Harry Potter's Meteor Crisis
by Sweet Kagamine Kiss
Summary: Harry had enough. He reached his breaking point, and an attempted suicide instead sends him off to another world reborn. Now faced with new dangers, join as he gets involved in this world, and fights to save the planet from the evils which corrupt it.
1. Disc 1, Chapter 1

**Harry Potter's Meteor Crisis**

**Disclaimer & Author's Note:** I do not own Harry Potter, any mentioned Harry Potter characters, and I do not own the characters of Final Fantasy VII or the series themselves. I do own whatever minor OCs that pop up as fillers, and this strange half-altered novelization plotline. This story overall is partly a novelization of the game, but there will be alterations, such as plots that were revealed in its prequels and sequels like Crisis Core, Dirge of Cerberus, and whatnot. Plus I will sometimes dip into the Materia that was known to be used in Crisis Core.

I wanted to write an HPxFFVII fic after I had read this Harry Potter x Final Fantasy VII oneshot written by **The Red Dragons Order**. Which I do find fairly interesting for Harry being Zack, Hermione as Aerith, and Ron as Reno (both have flaming red hair; why not? :P). Frankly, it may not make much sense, however I wanna do my best. I would have added it to The Hogwarts Book of Ficclets (originally it was plotted as oneshot) but hardly anybody gives my HP oneshot collection story a chance to read. Bleck.

* * *

**DISC ONE - CHAPTER ONE**

Harry was riding the train that led through the slums of Midgar. The teenager lived in this world for a year now, and drew upon the concept of the magic used in this world. A spell gone wrong to end his life. The teenager originally wanted to end his life by suicide because of a responsibility an entire world had thrown upon his shoulders and expected him to fix for the mistakes the Wizarding World at large allowed to run rampant and unchecked. It would all begin when Voldemort died trying to kill him. He had lived, ignorant of who he truly was until he was invited to Hogwarts. From what would have become something amazing for him, would soon turn out to be very troublesome. The dangers that he's faced since going to Hogwarts, was slowly eating away at him, and when Voldemort was revived in his fourth year... Dumbledore would have thought Harry could handle it. Heh, he was wrong, but yet the manipulative Headmaster didn't care about Harry's wellbeing at all, always sending him back to the abusive Dursleys. And when Sirius Black, his beloved godfather, was killed by Bellatrix during the end of fifth year and the whole deal with the DOM... Well... let's just say that he had reached his breaking point.

It was supposed to be a simple Avada Kedavra. It was an Unforgivable Spell, and the use of it, coupled with the underaged magic restriction, would immediately bring attention to him. Originally, he was going to AK himself, to spite the wizarding world to find somebody else to clean up their bullshit. Instead, his death sent his soul into limbo and the Horcrux in his scar to be vanquished as a result. Still, as he was held in limbo, his suicide caused great chaos in the Wizarding World, and upsetted the plans of one rather pissed off old man who had lost his so-called ultimate weapon for the light. Harry would awaken to find himself floating, before a rather elegant-looking being found him. The elegant being, who was a beautiful-looking woman, revived him, feeling that a jaded soul filled with heartbreak and hardship, can find healing in her world. However Harry only heard her say these words: _A jaded soul such as yours deserves second life... but only if you accept it, dear Harry._

He had ended up in the world of Gaia, where he was found by an old couple who lived in a ruined but still bustling village near the mountains of Cosmo Canyon. The couple raised him back to health, gave him a reason why he shouldn't just take his own life because of a few hardships, and took care of him until the teenager indeed decided to give this chance to renew his life. Thus, Harry traveled across the ocean. He had heard of Shinra, and how they ran the majority of the world as the main company to provide the delicacies of electricity, money, protection, and whatnot. However Harry a couple of times had run into their bad side. Harry was a cautious person now (thanks to Alastor Moody, the paranoid but strong Auror that he was), and trusted those who trusted him. Today was the anniversary of his renewed life. Sure, he had often wondered what happened to the few who truly cared for him, like Hermione, Remus, Luna, Neville... but whatever happened in his old home world was no longer his concern. Subconsciously, his hand drifted up to his forehead, where his faded lightning-bolt scar still remained. He didn't know why he did that though.

He was living a new life, and his old life he never knew what it was. Some memory flashbacks of strange people he never knew would come up but most of the time he would block them out.

The unruly dark-haired teen with the fiercest green eyes you'd ever seen (hidden behind small-framed glasses) glanced behind him to the glass window. Lying in his lap was a brown scabbard treated with the age-old magical protections crafted by Godric Gryffindor. Its brilliant dark green hued dragon hide complimented the bronze-decorated hilt guard, and the protective casing that surrounded the scabbard. It held locked in place a brilliant silver-handled blade. It looked rather ancient, but the blade had undergone alterations. It was given a bit more color, and the rubies were pried out and sold for a lot of Gil that Harry kept in his wallet that Uncle Sirius gave him that would never overfill. The empty ruby slots were then replaced with gold or bronze decorated metal ornaments in the guise of a lion's head. The cross guard was given a more widened berth. Also, the sword was crafted with the use of a Four Slots armoring. They were crafted into the sword to allow holding of Materia. The pommel was replaced with the ring end of a kunai he once found, and welded into the blade's handle. Finally, the age-old blade itself was recrafted for a longer width, more strength and integrity while still recycling the previous blade's metal.

Now, for the teen's clothes: Harry wore a zipped up dark orange short-sleeved vest with dark green flame designs lining the sides and back. The bottom was lined with a stitched-on leather belt, and the pockets were also attached with belt spaghetti straps hanging off the hips. The jeans worn were black and appeared to be custom-made. The left pant leg had two large pockets lining the side that are closed by zippers while the right pant leg was bare of pocket designs and instead had a zipper that ran up the right side up to about an inch or two past the knee. The left shoulder is covered by a rounded pauldron with two small battery probes that lined the outward metal iron ring. It was interconnected to the vest itself. Finally, for footwear, Harry wore knee-protected high dark brown boots with bronze shin plates and fake Materia orbs inserted into the side heels. The belt was a simple metal-plated belt, and he wore a Carbon Bangle.

A feminine voice came on over the intercom. _"Last train out of Sector 8 Station. Last stop is Sector 7, Train Graveyard. Expected time of arrival is 12:23 AM, Midgar standard time..."_

Harry resumed getting comfortable in the grungy train car as it hurdled down its tracks. Unlike the Hogwarts Express, there weren't any compartments; rather, just a bunch of seats along the wall, and gripping bars running along the ceiling. It was somewhat similar, yes, but the cars here looked like they required like two months of repair service. He jumped slightly when several people suddenly burst in through the door in the back, one after another. The first person to come through was a large bear of a man, with dark skin, a shaggy beard, and a crew cut. He was clad in green trouser shorts and a stained leather vest, which was open, revealing a very muscular torso hidden by the white tank he wore. Two metal bands served as belts, and on his arm, where his right hand should have been, was a grafted mechanical gun arm. The second person was more normal-sized. He was a bit on the pudgy side wearing dark blue denim jeans, a yellow-white t-shirt, and a red bandana. He carried a small pistol weapon in a holster that hung over his hip off a shoulder strap. Right away, he reminded Harry of his old lost friend Neville by the way his demeanor was.

The next passenger to come in was a bit taller, and definitely thinner than the pudgy one. He wore dark brown combat boots, equally brown slacks, and a green sleeveless shirt. He had a bandana on though his tended to blend into his brown hair. A rifle of some kind was slung across his back, maybe an AK type gun. The fourth person was a girl, light brown hair and goggles on her forehead. She also carried what looked like a pistol, but Harry also noticed a knife handle sticking out of her right boot. She was wearing non-descript clothing of bland colors, and though her bandana was brown, it stood out more than the last guy's. The final person to come through was a guy wearing a purple sleeveless sweater, with a heavy shoulder pad on his right shoulder. A massive sword was secured to his back, with spiky blonde hair, and his eyes seemed to have a strange glow to them. The pants were rugged-made, with boots, and metal wristbands.

"Oh boy," Harry heard the guy wearing elegant dress slacks whisper (and was sitting next to him), "hooligans. This is why I hate the last train." With that, he got up, opened the door at the end of the car and stepped through, shutting it firmly behind him. Harry decided to play quiet and listen to the conversations around him. He didn't hear much of anything interesting, until the guy next to him spoke up.

"Have you seen the headlines in the Shinra Times?"

Harry stared when he realized the guy was talking to him. "No, not really. I've haven't gotten the chance to read the papers lately."

"Oh well, then you haven't heard. Anyway, the terrorists that blew up the No. 1 Reactor are rumored to be based somewhere in the slums," the man whispered to him, as though he was telling Harry about some conspiracy or another.

"Blowing up a reactor? They sure put some thought into this one." The words flew out of Harry's mouth before he could stop to think about them, "They may have some sort of calculating leader to pull off something like that." The man nodded in agreed vigorously.

Harry suddenly had the uncomfortable feeling of being watched. He slowly turned his head in a calm manner, his eyes landing on the large black man with the gun-arm. The man's eyes stared at him in a scrutinizing manner for a minute, before turning away to bellow at the blond guy in purple.

"Hey! Stop actin' like a damn kid. Si' down an' shu' up!"

The blonde shrugged and turned back to the brunette that had started talking to him. Harry decided to scoot close without looking suspicious to listen in nonchalant. How he did so: beside him in its scabbard he had made for it was the Sword of Gryffindor, so he wasn't completely defenseless. He pulled it out, for a brief moment the AVALANCHE members tensed, before Harry took out a white cloth from one of his pockets and began polishing the blade.

"Cloud, you want to look at this with me? It's a map of the Midgar Rail System," she said.

Cloud decided to walk over to the young woman. "Here, I'll explain it to you, Cloud. I like this kinda stuff. Bombs and monitors... you know: flashy stuff." Harry heard her tap a few buttons, "Here, this is a complete model of the city of Midgar. It's about a one ten-thousandth scale. The top plate is about fifty meters above ground. A main support structure holds the plate up in the center, and there are other support structures built in each section."

The girl suddenly lowered her voice to a whisper; Harry scooted a bit closer and strained his ears to listen. "The No. 1 Reactor we blew up was in the northern section."

She suddenly talked normally again. "Then there's No. 2, No. 3, all the way around to the No. 8 Reactor. The 8 Reactors provide Midgar with electricity." Harry could hear a frown as she spoke more, "Each section used to be a town, with its own name. But no one in Midgar remembers them anymore. So, instead of names, we refer to them by numbered sectors. That's the kind of place this is. Phew," she took a breath to catch her breath, "This is next. Look!"

Despite the temptation to do so, Harry continued feigning disinterest in the conversation next to him as he continued polishing the metal blade, before carefully strapping it back into its scabbard and setting the blade over his lap whilst putting the cloth away.

"This is the route this train is on. The route spirals around the main support structure. We just passed the center area a bit ago. There is an ID sensor device at each checkpoint. It can check the identities and backgrounds on each and every passenger on the train by linking it up to the central databank at Shinra headquarters."

He sighed mainly to himself, and looked back out the window again. He wasn't that much worried. Since coming to Midgar, he'd managed to get proper ID so he could at least get the chance to wander without running into trouble with the city's law enforcement. Still, it still got him into minor trouble when it came to him always toting around the Gryffindor Heirloom (Sword of Gryffindor) whih he aquired without them knowing about it.

"Look... you can see the surface now. This city don't have no day or night. If that plate weren't there... we could see the sky."

Cloud walked over and looked out the window. "A floating city... Pretty unsettling scenery."

The gun-arm man stood up and smirked at Cloud. "Huh? Never expect that outta someone like you. You jes' full of surprises." He took a deep breath and began to growl, "The upper world... a city on a plate... It's 'cuz of that fucking pizza, that people underneath are sufferin'! And the city below is full of polluted air! An' on toppa that, the Reactors keep drainin' up all the energy!"

"Then why doesn't everyone move up onto the plate?"

"Dunno," Barret replied, calmly, "Probably 'cuz they ain't go no money. Or, maybe... they love their land, no matter how polluted it gets."

Cloud nodded in understanding. "I know. Nobody lives in the slums because they want to. It's like this train. It can't go anywhere except for where its rails take it."

A few minutes of terse silence followed, broken by the sound of screeching brakes. The train came to a grounding halt, and all the exit doors opened. The last stop is announced over the PA as the passengers filed out of the train car, followed by the group of terrorists. Seeing that he was the last one left, Harry stood up and strapping the Sword of Gryffindor on him, he walked toward the door. Before he could step off however, he was shoved backwards as the large man with gun on his arm came back in and shut the door.

"Hey! What gives?" Harry grunted, getting back to his feet while also grasping the sword in prepared defense.

"Yer not bad at the stealthy stuff, kid," he said calmly, crossing his arms and studying him closely, "You were a bit obvious 'bout listenin' to Jesse an' Cloud."

Harry didn't say anything. He wanted to run the hell away but something made him want to hear this guy out. "Listen... I know you know abou' the Reactor. What do you think of it?"

Harry hadn't expected that. Nevertheless, he thought for a minute then remembered his earlier thoughts. "I don't really know. I don't know anything about this place except the first two months I spent traveling Midgar upon arriving here to the city. I'd rather not decide anything for certain until I know more," he answered truthfully.

Harry recognized the look in the man's eyes as the man started lecturing Harry on what the Reactors were doing to the planet. _He has the same fiery gleam that... that she had whenever she would talk about her..._ Harry couldn't finish his thought. His heart ached a bit whenever he thought of her. At the end of his lecture, the man introduced himself as Barret, then asked Harry if he got it all. Harry nodded slowly.

"So these Reactors are sucking out the _Life Energy_ of the planet, and without this energy the planet withers and dies... right, I got it. So, what are you planning to do about it? Surely just blowing up the Reactors wouldn't stop Shinra by itself. I have heard about them, and unfortunately I have had a few run-ins with their other side before I decided to stick to underground."

"Heh. I've got it all planned out." Barret looked at him a bit more closely, "Hey kid, that sword of yours, is it any use?"

Harry considered this. "Well of course it's a great use. Helped me when I was traveling the plains of this landscape, and the mountains avoiding the marshes where the Midgar Zolom breeds. Why do you ask?"

"'Cuz there be monsters in them lands," Barret snickered, "then again, I can tell you can handle yourself well. You'll be safe from monsters while in a populated area, but once you leave a town, you'll be confronted by wolves, rouge robots and the like; even some bandits, mebbe. Can't be too careful..."

"Right..." Harry nodded slowly, "So... what are you doing?"

Barret shrugged. "I don't normally do this sorta thang; trying to bring down a company like the Shinra with only a few good hands requires a lot of guerilla tactics and some distrust towards the general population." He looked at Harry again, "But somethin' tells me you can be trusted. You want in AVALANCHE? We can always use some more people workin' fer us."

Harry thought over his options. He was being offered a job of sorts – a dangerous one, to be sure, but he had faced plenty of danger before... most of them were thrown completely out of his control and once suspected were just plots by a slight manipulative Headmaster of a certain school. Harry looked up, his decision made.

"Eh, why the hell not? It'd give me something to do and a steady source of information. I can also stop finding areas in the slums to sleep for a night or fight against crazed bandits monsterized or otherwise."

Barret looked at him quizzically for a minute then chuckled. "Come with me, kid." Harry followed Barret as the door opened and they jumped out.

=0=0=

Barret led Harry through a small town, which primarily consisted of ramshackle buildings that reminded Harry of the Shrieking Shack. They stopped outside a bar, whose glowing neon sign read Seventh Heaven.

"Jes a second, kid," Barret commented before ducking inside.

Harry heard the sounds of gun shots, then jumped aside as all the patrons inside came running out in a panic. A bar maid stood outside, bowing apologetically.

She wore a tight, white tank top that exposed her midriff, a short brown leather miniskirt, comfortable-looking boots, and leather gloves with a metal knuckle stitched over her fingers. Her shoulder-length dark brown hair was kept secure with a hair tie down near the end of her hair. She ducked back inside once the patrons had all disappeared. Barret's comrades all entered the bar, having been given the go-ahead by the large man himself.

He nodded at Harry. "Ok! Go on ahead!" He then turned and bellowed something at someone; "Yo! Cloud! Get off your slow-movin' ass!"

Chuckling despite himself, Harry hopped over the railing and pushed through the tavern door. The stares he received from those inside brought back the irksome feelings he used to feel whenever he entered the Great Hall at Hogwarts when he was younger and still living on that island. Sometimes those stares will forever bother him.

"Who the bloody hell are you?" the thin man with the rifle interrogated him without a moment's hesitation.

"And who the hell are you?" Harry shot back.

The young lady got a closer look at Harry. "Oh, you're the kid from the train... the one listening to Cloud and me."

The guy shot an intense glare at her. "If you knew he was listening then why were you still speaking?"

"I only noticed it afterwards, Biggs!" she shot back with a glare, before turning to face Harry, smiling once again, "though, something also tells me you're not entirely that new around here in Midgar."

"As it is," the portly guy spoke, "the damage is done. He must have spoken with Barret anyway, otherwise he wouldn't be here."

The open tavern door pushed open, and Cloud walked in with Barret following.

"Alright, everyone, listen. We have a new guy joinin' us."

Harry smiled nervously. "The name's Harry. Been to Midgar for only two months."

"Only two months?" asked the round man.

"The first month was spent on the upper sectors before a rather crude run-in with the wrong crowds forced me to hide underground because Shinra though that the killer of a group of Shinra personnel was done with a sword-type weapon."

"Wrong place at the wrong time," Barret muttered, "Shinra would like to put the blame on people just to boost their own popularity."

"The guy was found... left to rot to death somewhere in the Sector 3 slums when that same guy tried to kill me in an attempted mugging."

"Alright, everybody. Downstairs for a meeting. We'll all introduce ourselves down there." Barret walked over to a pinball machine, and flipping a hidden switch, the floor under it began to go down on a crude elevator lift. Everybody else walked over and jumped down the hole.

Harry felt a hand on his shoulder, and looked to the bar maid.

"I'm Tifa Lockhart. It's nice to meet you, Harry."

"Same to you, Tifa," he says, "so, do you run this place?"

"Yup. I get a bit of help from the others, and sometimes from my friend Cloud over there." Harry looked over to the blonde with the large sword standing there, still gazing at him with scrutinizing eyes.

"Why did you join?" she asked.

"Well... I'm but a petty murderer to the Shinra, and even though many say they are the greatest... well... not many of the Shinra's police personnel wouldn't allow me a chance to tell my side of the story. It... it kind of reminds me of the bigoted one-sided justice I once fell under by another minor government outside Shinra's rules."

Tifa raised an eyebrow at that.

"I'm originally from another island nation far from the three mainlands," he explained, "where Shinra hardly has any contact with since that island nation is now dead, with the few populaces dying from radiation of dumped weapons."

"I'm sorry to hear that..."

Harry and Tifa heard the sound of the lift descending, and saw Cloud riding down the lift.

"Yeah. I'm also an orphan. Didn't really knew my parents much... I lived in a small secluded island from my homeland away from most of the polluted lands of the dead weapons dump by Shinra... though I now heard that island sunk after a quake sunk it a year ago... hell, I attempted suicide because there was some crazed killer who went insane by Mako poisoning tried to kill me, but died."

"That's horrible," she gasped.

Harry sat down, as did Tifa across from her. "The few of my small village proclaimed me some savior... really; they were a bit one-minded. And when the supposed killer came back to life, the village sought for me to kill him again. Granted, I was only eleven when the killings began again. With all that crap being shoved onto me, I snapped and tried to kill myself when I was sixteen, ended up washed ashore on the continent in the west near an old village next to the ruins of a reactor. An old couple there found me, nursed me back to health... and they took care of me until they made me realize that my failed suicide was god saying that I should live a renewed life. Away from my old village, away from the people who pressured me, forced me to fix the problems the minor island nation government left unchecked... well..."

He looked at Tifa. "I guess you can understand what I'm getting at."

"I do," she said softly, looking directly into Harry's eyes, "even your eyes speak that they have seen more than simple street fights."

Harry smiled sadly. "Yup..."

"You're a brave young man to put up with all of those hardships, Harry," Tifa tells the teenager.

He chuckled a bit. "Brave, maybe... but I still have fears and nightmares at times... especially nightmares of my birth parents dying... I have a bit of a good memory... and a baby remembering the sounds of his parents being murdered in your crib room..."

She got up, walked around, and hugged him. Harry tensed a bit but sunk into the embrace.

_Sister dear..._

From the elevator lift, the rest of AVALANCHE had listened in.

=0=0=

Harry awoke to a slight crick in his neck and a stiff lower back. He stood up and stretched; pleasantly surprised that he didn't have any bad dreams last night. He finished stretching and rode the pinball elevator back upstairs to be greeted with the sight of Tifa and Barret standing around talking about whatever Barret seemed to have planned for the day, and little Marlene (who he met late last night, finding her to be quite a charming little girl when she's not too shy) mixing drinks. He spotted the Sword of Gryffindor, and was relieved he had just left it sitting on the table, inside its scabbard.

"Good morning Harry, did you sleep well?" Tifa greeted the teen.

"Yeah, a bit of a crick in my neck, but I slept better. Better than sleeping in the slums outside worrying if someone or something will try and mug ya."

"So, I noticed your fancy sword from yesterday," said Tifa, "it had Materia Slots on it. You have Materia on you?"

"Yeah, only three Materia." He taps the Carbon Bangle, "I had this for a year now. Came with the two Materia that was useful for me from time to time. It's a Fire and an Ice elemental Materia."

He then lifted his right leg up and plops his boot down on the chair, and pulls the zipper up, revealing his high boot and his protected knee behind the kneecap. Around the ankle is an Iron Bangle, along with a slotted Materia. "And this is my favorite Materia found in the mountains near the wastelands outside the city limits. It's a Dash Materia. It's useful for quick boosts of speed to evade potential enemy attacks."

"Dash Materia, huh?"

"They're rare Materia to come across," Harry said, "even rarer to just find lying around."

"Hm... that is a nice sword you have, though," Cloud said, eyeing the elegant blade as Harry unsheathed it.

"Thanks. It was old, but I decided to upgrade it so that it would be even stronger. Plus the person who fixed this sword back in the west used a Four Slots and added it onto my sword."

"Eh, that's not really a sword, though," Cloud pulled out his own sword from his back, "Now, this is a sword."

Eyes wide, a sudden smirk crept onto Harry's face at the sight of the monstrous blade. "Why, what a big sword you have, Cloud. Are you, perchance, over-compensating for something?"

Cloud's eyes bulged in surprised embarrassment as those in the room roared with laughter. Once Tifa and Barret's laughter settled and Cloud recovered his composure returning his sword to his back, Tifa spoke up. "I'm going this time with you and the gang."

Barret spoke up. "Our target's the Sector 5 Reactor. Head for the station first. I'll fill you in on the train." Before anyone could approach the door, though, Barret called to Cloud, "Yo! Cloud! Before the next mission, I got somethin' I wanna ask you! I, uh... I don't really know how to use Materia! I'll give you that Materia we found. Just teach me how to use it!"

Cloud sighed. As Cloud began to explain the concepts of it to Barret, Harry walked over to Jessie.

"So... nervous?" she asked the teen.

"Somewhat... I mean, I just joined yesterday and already I know that this is going to be a heavy task. I'm practically the newbie of your group."

She giggled, and wrapped an arm around him. "Don't worry. I'm sure Barret won't be too tough on you being the new guy and all. Just be careful and listen to Barret."

"Sure thing Jessie... Oh... and uh, thanks again for last night."

She smiled, remembering how she approached him and warmed up immensely to him, and also giving him a bit of comfort. "You're welcome, Harry."

"Alright, guys and girls. Head to the train right now. Regroup there, and then we'll discuss about the plan. You know what to do so go. Harry, you're with Cloud, Tifa, and me."

"Sure," he replied, as Jessie squeezed his hand reassuringly, before following Biggs and Wedge out the bar.

"Oh, I almost forgot!" Tifa exclaimed, "Cloud, the man at the Weapon Shop across from the bar wanted to give you something. Don't forget to stop by."

"Alright then. I'll catch up real quick." He exited without another word, as Harry felt a hard thump to his back.

"Jus' follow my words and you'll stay alive. I don't want your scrawny little ass killed."

"Sure, Barret," he said.

"Let's get going. Marlene, keep mindful of the bar."

"Okay Tifa. Be careful dad."

"We'll be back soon pumpkin."

The three left the Seventh Heaven. A minute later after boarding the train (Cloud catching up quickly), the machina whistled and began to trundle down the tracks onward to its destination. Harry could only wait, and see what happens... but he just knew that he was in for an adventure. He just didn't know how dangerous this would all become as it unfolds.

* * *

**The story itself will be slightly different. Yes, I will have things involving the Harry Potter world... frankly, I wouldn't know what I would directly have involve, but I'm thinking of a way. Until then... what do you think?**


	2. Chapter 2

**Harry Potter's Meteor Crisis**

**Disclaimer & Author's Note:** I do not own Harry Potter, any mentioned Harry Potter characters, and I do not own the characters of Final Fantasy VII or the series themselves. I do own whatever minor OCs that pop up as fillers, and this strange half-altered novelization plotline.

* * *

**CHAPTER TWO**

"So slots that have these lines mean they are linked?" Barret questioned to the Materia Slots on his Carbon Bangle.

"Right," Cloud responded.

Cloud had gone to the weapon shop to receive a Counter-Attack Materia from the man who ran it. He also bought a Leather Gauntlet for Harry (he didn't know which hand he'd want so he picked right). On Harry's leather gauntlet, he had four slots, two linked up. In total with the Iron and Carbon Bangle, and the Four Slots on the Gryffindor Sword, Harry had twelve Materia Slots. Harry was given the All Materia that he found lying in the dirt hidden by some of the crates outside the ramshackle weapons shop. The Lightning Materia was given to Barret, and Tifa held onto the Restore Materia. For Harry, the teen linked his Fire Materia with the All Materia, moving the Ice Materia onto the sword. As for Cloud, he still kept hold of his own Fire and Ice Materia stones kept slot on the Buster Sword.

"Hey Cloud," Tifa motioned, "Let's look at the railway map monitor."

"I've already seen it last night with Jessie," Cloud replied, "sorry."

"Oh," Tifa answered, a bit saddened, but nodded nonetheless.

Harry remained seated in the same spot he was at the other night, just minding his own business. The train continued onward, passing through a security check point at some time. Harry didn't pay much attention, sine Jessie had explained the other night that the security IDs she's concocted would help them getting through security points... The car suddenly became doused in a blood-red light as a siren began blaring.

"**Type A Security Alert! Unidentified passengers confirmed! A search of all the cars will be conducted! Repeat! Type A Security Alert! Unidentified passengers confirmed! A search of all the cars will be conducted!"**

"What's happening?" Tifa cried.

"What's goin' on!?" Barret roared.

Jessie rushed in through the door. "We're in trouble! I'll explain later! Hurry! Get to the next car!"

"Fuck!" Barret grumbled, pulling Harry and Tifa along with him as he made his way toward the door Jessie ran back through, "Someone blew it..."

"**Unidentified passengers located in Car #1,"** the slightly digitized voice said over the intercom, **"Preparing for lock down."**

"Let's go! Keep it up!" Barret ordered. Tifa, Cloud, and Harry pressed through the door into the next car, followed by the AVALANCHE leader.

"**Car #1 locked down. Upgrading to Level 2 Warning,"** the intercom warbled.

"Hurry!" Biggs called to them, running toward the next car.

"They're gonna lock the door, sir!" Wedge cried, chasing after Biggs.

"**Unidentified passengers located in Car #2. Preparing for lock down."**

"Just run!" Jessie yelled, "Changing to Plan B!" Barret, Cloud, Tifa, and Harry followed the brunette into the next car.

"**Car #2 locked down. Upgrading to Level 3 Warning."** The red light stopped flashing at this statement.

"Awright! We clear?" Barret asked.

"Not yet; they're starting another search!" Jessie replied, "If we're caught, we're done for! But don't worry, if we move up the train, car by car, we should be able to escape!"

She turned and started to run for the next car, only to be stopped when a man grabbed her arm. Harry saw this, and from behind his foot catches the man in the crotch. Forgetting about mugging Jessie, the man collapsed clutching himself. Jessie smiled at Harry before rushing to the door. Harry and Tifa followed after her, with Barret and Cloud behind them.

"**Unidentified passengers are confirmed to be moving toward the front of the train. Currently tracking location..."**

As they squeezed through the door into the final car, the lights came back on and the doors to the other cars slammed shut and clicked as the locks fell into place. **"Car #4 locked down. Upgrading to Maximum Security Alert!"**

"Alright, we made it!" Barret ran toward the front of the car where, Harry now saw, was a door on the side of the car. An **EXIT** sign glowed dimly in the low light just above it.

"Yo! This way!" He threw open the door revealing the tunnel wall outside, as lights on it flashed by, "Let's go! We're gonna dive outta here!"

Tifa, Cloud, and Harry walked up to the door. "Scary, huh?" Tifa remarked.

"A bit," Harry agreed.

"Too late to be saying that now! Why did you come along anyway, Tifa?" Cloud questioned.

Tifa smiled and looked down. "... Because..."

"Hey you two!" Barret scolded, "Ain't no time for that!"

Tifa nodded. "Yeah! I've made up my mind. Watch closely; I'm gonna jump!" Once Tifa's jump brought her outside the door of the train car, she disappeared as her decreased momentum let the train car leave her behind. Cloud followed soon after.

Harry turned to Barret. "You don't mind if I go first?"

"A leader always stays til the end," the large man told him, "Don't worry about me, just go!"

"Right." Harry had only stepped to the door when Barret stopped him for a moment.

"Yo! Don't go gettin' your scrawny little ass hurt! It's only the beginning of the mission!"

"I know," he responds, before leaping out as well.

Soon, Cloud, Tifa, and Harry regrouped, and Barret joined up with them.

"Good, so far everything has gone as planned...mostly," Barret declared. He turned toward the direction toward Sector 5. "Better not let your guard down until we get to Sector 5." He looked back at Harry, Cloud, and Tifa. "Biggs, Wedge, and Jessie got everything ready for us. So MOVE it!" The barked order made Harry and Tifa jump. "Well, the reactor's just down this tunnel."

The group of four had barely taken a step forward when Harry heard the scuttling sounds of bugs. Harry so wished there weren't giant spider-like monsters like he had encountered in the Junon Forests, but Harry pushed the unsettling thought out of his mind as he pulled out Gryffindor's Sword. He noticed Cloud was gripping his massive blade with both hands, while Barret held his gun-arm out before him. Tifa, as a martial artist, merely tightened her gloves and stepped back into a ready stance.

From around the corner in the tunnel, a group of five silver-gray scorpion-like creatures came into view. Right behind them was a floating mechanical device. It seemed to be controlling the arthropods in front of it.

"Awright, here's what we'll do. Cloud, Tifa, Harry, keep the bugs in front busy while I blow that 'bot to hell!" Barret ordered. He opened fire at the device while Cloud and Tifa ran in and struck. Cloud raised his blade and chopped one scorpion thing in half, while Tifa pummeled another with her fists and feet.

Not to be out done, Harry leapt forward and stabbed his sword clean through an insect that had tried to circle around to attack Tifa from behind. It let out a small shriek before he threw his blade up, allowing it to fly up. As it fell, he slashed halving it, the dying body disappearing into a small pile of golden coins and a potion bottle. Tifa gave him a grateful smile before pulling him down, causing the blue laser beam aimed at their heads to soar harmlessly overhead. They jumped up afterward in time to see Cloud swat away a bug that had jumped for him with the flat of his blade. It soared through the air toward them, and Tifa jumped up and caught it with a flip kick that sent it straight into the wall behind.

Needless to say, Harry was impressed. "So you can kick ass."

"Yup," was her chirped reply, sending a roundhouse at a jumping bug that leapt at them, "a lot of practice and training." Harry threw his blade, and it spears it against the wall spraying a bit of green blood before shriveling away into fyreflies, dropping a bit of Gil. Soon after, the small bug army was slain, and Barret, releasing a bolt of lightning from his Materia, destroyed the control sphere.

"Well, that was interesting... I ran into ghosts and mugging creeps, but never these things."

"Yeah, but we can't stay in one place. Let's get goin'."

=0=0=

"Those light beams are the Shinra's security sensors," Cloud declared. "We can't go any further."

Harry spotted a ventilation duct in the wall on their side of the light beams. "What about that duct?"

Barret peered at it. "That's one damn tiny hole," he grumbled.

"We probably have to go down it," Harry thought out loud.

"You tellin' me to squeeze into that to get under the Plate? No way!" He looked up at Cloud. "Yo, Cloud! What're we gonna do?"

Tifa got close and looked down inside. "I don't see anything that'll get us stuck in this duct."

"Yeah, but if we go down this duct, we won't be to come back up here," Cloud agreed.

"Don't be wastin' no time!" Barret growled, "Never know when the Shinra'll find us. Cloud, you jes' gotta go! But, damn, man, that thing gives me the creeps!"

"Claustrophobic?" Harry snickered, though not without sympathy. If Harry was as big as the gun-arm toting leader of AVALANCHE, he wouldn't want to try squeezing into an air duct like that either. Then again, Hagrid was a bit claustrophobic as well being a half-giant. The thought of Hagrid however made him frown a bit and feel sad.

"I ain't afraid of nothin'!" the large man shot back, still growling. As if to prove it, he went and climbed inside the duct first. As he squeezed himself inside and crawled down, Harry could hear a lot of swearing and even a few rounds of gunfire.

After several tense minutes of this, Barret finally called back. "Phew! Finally out! Alright, you three, it's clear. Come on down!"

Cloud looked at Tifa. "Ladies first, Tifa."

Tifa shook her head, grinning. "To die? I don't think so, Cloud. You can go first this time."

Harry interrupted them before they could bicker any further. "I'll go down first. Hopefully that will keep you two from bickering like an old married couple."

Harry's words were rewarded with a brilliant blush on both sets of cheeks and some stammering from Tifa. Smiling broadly to himself, Harry sat down and stuck his feet into the vent first, then pushed off and slid down, soon shooting out the other end, almost colliding with Barret's broad back.

"Sheesh, kid, could you have come outta that thing any faster? You almost bowled me over!" he grunted, keeping an eye (and his gun-arm) on the lookout.

"What can I say?" Harry shot back as Tifa slid down, quite a bit more slowly, "I'm a scrawny little ass, remember?"

"True dat," Barret laughed. A few banging sounds could be heard from the duct as Cloud and his sword banged on the walls of the vent several times. After another minute or two, he pulled himself out of the duct headfirst and joined them. And finally, Tifa joined them.

Wedge poked his head up over the ladder leading downward before them, and looked relieved to see it was them. "Cloud, Barret, this way. The Reactor's down a few ladders, across the platform, and up a third ladder."

"Right," Cloud acknowledged, much to Barret's chagrin. The quartet followed the pudgy fellow down the set of ladders and they shortly stepped out onto a big platform; on the way taking care of a few pest problems.

_It could easily be a quarter-kilometer long,_ Harry noted, _and about half that in width._ At the opposite end from where they stood, they saw another ladder. Biggs was standing there, and he greeted Barret and Cloud as the group approached.

"We're gonna pull out now. We'll meet up back at the hideout." He turned to Cloud, "Cloud, we're countin' on you to blow the reactor!"

Wedge and Biggs pulled back, taking some other exit. Harry and Cloud climbed the ladder first and came face to face with Jessie at the top; Barret and then Tifa joined them less than a minute later.

"I'm sorry, Harry," Jessie frowned sadly, "The ID scan problem on the train was my fault. I made your ID card special... So that's why it happened. I put my heart into making it, but I failed."

"It's okay, everything worked out fine in the end," Harry replied, "But... why?"

Jessie shrugged. "I dunno. You just seemed like a cute little brother, I guess."

"_Cute_ little brother?" Tifa giggled. She looked at Harry appraisingly, "You make a good point, Jessie."

"Hey!" Harry protested with a blush as Cloud and Barret began chuckling and the girls were giggling.

"Awright, enough o' that," Barret declared a few minutes and several glares from Harry later, "Let's go set the bomb and blow this joint."

"See you later, guys," Jessie called, sliding down the ladder and disappearing. Harry and Tifa went through the final door first, followed by Cloud and Barret.

"Damn." Harry one-worded. They were currently standing on a small platform the same level as the top floor of what could only be called a tower, where, Harry could see, some elevators were located.

_And there's our escape route._ Looking down, Harry's eyes followed the staircase to the bottom of the room. He also saw a pipe that was about a meter and a half wide, extending from the edge of the platform where they now stood down across the room, dropped to a vertical position about four meters off the ground.

"Alright, kid, enough gawking. Let's go," Barret grumbled, "I'll stay back and lay down some cover if any security finds us. Cloud, you go first, then Harry, and then Tifa. I'll go after everyone else."

Without a word, Cloud leapt nimbly onto the pipe, sliding down the metal tube like he was surfing. As he came to the bottom, he jumped down, hitting the floor and rolling to absorb the impact safely and without injury.

"And I thought jumping out of a speeding train was stupid," Harry muttered under his breath. A giggle told him that Tifa had heard him.

Harry however sat down on his rear and pushed off, as he had back in the ventilation duct. He let out a gasp as he slid faster than the duct, and as he came close to the end of the angled section of the pipe, clamped his feet around the tube and slowed down. It almost worked too well; Harry managed not to fly forward head first, but it was a near thing. His descent slowed down, and Harry let go at the end, dropping the last few meters and hitting the ground in a roll as Cloud had done.

"That wasn't very stylish, kid," Cloud smirked.

"Yeah, well, pardon me for not having Slip-n-Slide boots, Spiky," Harry snapped back. Cloud might have glared at the nickname, had Tifa not landed on her feet next to him, giggling at them and the slide, "then again... at least I didn't suffer like this time I nearly fell off the edge of a steep cliff... woo. Was sure I lost three years off my total lifespan."

Harry noticed out the corner of his eye a small glint. He brought the blade up, just as a security droid revealed itself firing a laser. Deflected, the beam slams into the droid, blowing up its head.

"Trouble," Harry shouted, as more security droids, and humanoid robots popped up out of the woodworks.

Cloud with his weapon shot forward at the first robot and swung with an overhead chop. Tifa launched herself at a group, her punches and kicks flying. Barret himself was dealing with a few of the spider-like droids that dropped down from above on his position, and Harry ducked under a beam of energy, and casted a Blizzard spell from his Ice Materia. As Harry destroyed the first manikin-shaped robot, he heard Cloud grunt in pain. He reached into his left top pocket.

You see, the pocket was a spelled bottomless book bag Harry originally had in his old life. When he tried to AK himself, he was also hanging himself using its leather strap... so it somehow transferred with him. So, hey, change it into pants pockets was the idea for Minerva when the female goddess revived Harry into her world, into her realm.

"Cloud catch!"

He threw a Potion and snatching it, the young man drank the contents before throwing the now empty glass bottle at a droid. It was cleaved in half for looking in the direction of Cloud. Barret suddenly landed behind him, his heavy boots smashing the head of the critters from the train corridor, and tapped into the Lightning Materia enough to cast a Thunder spell at the last droid Tifa was battling. With a vicious uppercut, the humanoid was sent flying towards Cloud, who swung the sword around in an upwards manner. The two halves exploded.

"Didn't I ever tell you to always keep an eye out for enemies!?" Barret bellowed at them, taking the time to kill the squirming creature under him, and stepping back as what didn't dissolve away into fyreflies turned into Gil, and a Potion bottle.

"To be fair, Barret, you never told me that," Harry shot back. That stopped Barret's upcoming rant short.

"Let's get moving. They probably know we're here, now." Tifa's logical argument made the quartet move toward the nearby door. Inside, they climbed down yet another ladder and slowly traversed a pipe that stretched from their current platform to the wall, where another ladder could be seen heading down to the level below.

Once they were safely down, the Reactor core could be seen. Harry, Cloud, and Tifa stepped forward with Barret providing cover. Standing before the Reactor, however, Cloud suddenly fell to his knees, clutching his head.

"Cloud!" Tifa cried, kneeling down next to him. Harry squatted down, too, and studied his face.

"What's wrong wit' him?" Barret called over his shoulder...

=0=0=

Cloud groaned, slowly looking up. The blonde swordsman realized that he was no longer surrounded by Barret, Tifa, or Harry. No, instead he sees the younger version of Tifa crouching before him, holding the body of her slain father. A very long sword, stained with the red liquid, was beside her.

"Papa... Sephiroth did this to you, did he...?" She was sobbing, blood surrounding her father, "Sephiroth, SOLDIER, Mako reactors, Shinra... everything!" She screamed out, "I HATE THEM ALL!"

She got up, grabbed the blood-stained sword that was beside the dead body, and ran into the next room. Cloud's mind began to buzz again, an intense ringing echoing as the world seemed to dissolve into a vision of white.

=0=0=

"Tifa...?" Cloud's voice, like his eyes, was very far away. Suddenly, he shook his head and looked up at the girl in question.

"Damn, man! Get a hold of yourself!" Barret shouted over his shoulder.

"You all right, Cloud?" Harry asked.

Cloud stood up. "...Tifa?"

"Hm?"

Cloud shook his head. "No, forget it. Come on, let's hurry!" Stepping up to the main controls of the Reactor, Cloud administered what looked like a C2 plastique explosive to the panel. He plugged in a timer, and set it for thirty minutes.

"That should give us enough time to escape." He pressed the START button, "Let's blow this joint!"

"Sounds good to me!" Barret agreed. The four of them ran toward the ladder, intent on making it out before the bomb blew. All the while, none of them noticed a pair of eyes watching them. Once the quartet was out of sight, the eyes stepped forward, locked onto the ticking time bomb.

=0=0=

The few security mechs they ran into on their mad dash to exit the Reactor were quickly mowed down by Cloud and Barret (as well as finding discarded Materia; a Lightning and Cure Materia). Within minutes of setting the bomb, the quartet of AVALANCHE members - well, Cloud was a hired mercenary, but that's beside the point - threw themselves into an elevator and pressed the button for the ground floor.

They attempted to catch their breath during the two minute ride. Once the doors slid open, Cloud and Barret led the retreat. They found themselves facing a set of blast doors, with three buttons on a table in off in a small side room.

"Jessie said we have to press all three buttons at the same time to open the door," Tifa added. She stood before one button, Cloud at another, and Barret took the third. "On the count of three. One...two..."

"THREE!" As one, the three of them pressed their buttons in perfect unison.

"Can't get much more perfect than that," Barret growled as the doors opened, only for a Roboguard to stumble in, followed by more. Harry however, standing guard as the group unsealed the blast doors, tapped into his Dash Materia.

Harry was a blur, his quick bursts of speed made him look like he flew! Left, right, he made the Roboguards confused, as more often they took out their own by friendly fire, and several taken out fast with a few powered strikes and the use of Fire spells. Harry dashed out of the way of an energy beam, reappearing with a shout of, "good night!" as the sword was thrown right into its head, and Harry ruthlessly drags it straight down, cleaving it in half and leapt back from the ensued explosion.

Twirling the blade, he sheathed it into the scabbard strapped to his back, only to turn and see wide-eyed looks from his the comrades.

"What?"

"Nothin'," said Barret, the first to compose himself, "let's get the hell outta here."

A minute later, and everyone was gathered at the T intersection of walkways outside the Reactor tower.

"This way!" Barret called, but as soon as he finished speaking, Shinra soldiers blocked the way, "Shinra soldiers! SHIT! What the hell's going on?"

"... A trap..." Harry and Cloud replied at the same time. More soldiers armed with guns began to pop up as well, blocking the other exit, and then from the ramp ways high above, more trained their guns upon the quartet.

Then, from behind, coming out of the Reactor tower was a smartly-dressed man in a business suit with a blonde moustache and a professional part in his blonde hair. He stepped toward them, his Oxford-like shoes clicking on the sidewalk. From the slacks he wore, to the matching coat of great detail, you can instantly tell his aura was that of a pompous rich man.

"President Shinra!?" Barret gasped.

"Why is the President here?" Tifa wondered in awe.

"Hmm..." President Shinra mused, gazing at the quartet speculatively, "So, you all must be that...?".

"AVALANCHE!" Barret bellowed, "And don't ya forget it! So, you're President Shinra, huh?"

"Long time no see... President," Cloud remarked conversationally, stepping forward.

"... Long time no see? Oh, it's you..." the President looked momentarily confused, "You're the one who quit SOLDIER and joined AVALANCHE. I knew you were exposed to Mako, from the glow in your eyes. Tell me, traitor... what was your name?"

"Cloud Strife."

"Forgive me for asking," The President shook his head in feigned regret, "but I can't be expected to remember each person's name." He looked away, into the distance, "Unless you become another Sephiroth... Yes, Sephiroth... now he was brilliant. Perhaps... too brilliant..."

Cloud took a step back, shocked. He shook his head. "... Sephiroth...?"

Barret shoved past Cloud. "Don't give a damn 'bout none of that! This place's goin' up with a big BANG soon! Serves y'all right!"

Shinra sneered at the AVALANCHE leader. "And such a waste of good fireworks, just to get rid of vermin such as yourself..."

"VERMIN!?" Barret roared with outrage, "That's all you can say!? VERMIN!? Y'all Shinra're the VERMIN, killing the Planet! And that makes you KING VERMIN! So shu' up, jackass!"

President Shinra simply gave a feigned yawn, as he was no longer feeling interested in staying around much longer. "You are beginning to bore me. I'm a very busy man, you see, so if you'll excuse me... I have a dinner to attend."

Barret made to run right up to him. "Dinner!? Don't gimme that! I ain't even started wit' you yet!"

"But," President Shinra smirked, snapping his fingers, "I've arranged for a playmate for you all." As he finished speaking, the dull drone of engines filled their ears as the Shinra guards began to pull back.

"What's that noise?" Tifa asked. Barret ran back to stand beside her.

A huge, menacing-looking robot buzzes in. Barret and Tifa squeezed to the sides of the walkway to let it pass. It now hovered between the pair of Barret and Tifa, and the pair of Harry and Cloud. Each pair was, essentially, cut off from the other, as the machine took up almost the entire width of the walkway.

"Meet Airbuster, a techno-soldier. Our Weapon Development team created him," Shinra remarked casually, with the air of one commenting on the weather. "I'm sure the data he'll extract from your dead bodies will be of great use to us in future experiments."

"... Techno-soldier?" Cloud repeated, dazed.

The roar of a helicopter's engines and rotors filled their ears as the copter itself hovered next to the walkway, within easy reach of President Shinra. The Shinra logo on the side of the cockpit was clearly visible. President Shinra stepped into the carriage and took his seat in the luxury-padded red velvet of the interior. "Now, if you'll excuse me..."

Cloud moved forward to intercept him, but was too late to catch him. The four AVALANCHE members were now left alone with the Airbuster, with the President glancing back with a sneer worthy of Severus Snape as it flew away into the distance. Now, the only rumble of machinery was the techno-soldier that now began to make a threatening move against Cloud and Harry. Harry reached into his pocket, and pulled out his only grenade that he had kept with him (and before he wasted most of them, used to trap his surroundings incase any muggers in the empty slum pathways attempt to get him as he sleeps). Cloud leapt forth and slashed, ducking from the gunfire. It got distracted when Barret unloaded upon it with a few gunshots from his arm cannon. Harry pulled the pin, and allowed the grenade to cook in his hand for a few seconds before throwing it with all his might. The loud explosion made the flying mechanical behemoth stumble a bit, however the armor had done what it was designed to do.

"Damn, Tifa! Hit it!" Harry shouted.

Tifa's Materia glowed as she fired a bolt of lightning. It shuddered from the electrical pulse that raced through the wires, before turning around to face her and Barret, who open fired with a round of machinegun fire, but only managing to make dents.

"Yo, Cloud! We gotta do somethin' about this thing!" Barret called out, training his gun-arm on the armored mech as it buzzed toward him and Tifa.

"Help, Cloud, Harry!" Tifa cried out, backing up alongside Barret. Cloud and Harry approached it, weapons drawn, "THIS is from SOLDIER!?"

Cloud shook his head no vigorously. "No way! It's just a machine!"

The Airbuster rammed Harry as it fired upon the teen, making Cloud curse and attack with another overhead slash of the Buster Sword. Getting up, Harry focused upon the Cure Materia he had slot into the single slot of his Carbon Bangle. The warmth that engulfed him washed away any aches that he felt, and that pain from when he got shot in the leg ducking back from its rear machine guns was now gone, its bullets expelled through an unknown meaning. A wavering glow flowed off Harry at this point, before he took action. Twirling his sword, he threw it and it lunged into the back head of Airbuster. He rushed forward while it was stunned and leapt high. He caught the handle and dragged it viciously downward, causing a large rip in its armor before doing a backward somersault and landed beside Cloud.

"Damn that was good!" Barret yelled as Tifa caught its attention. Barret open fire on the wounds, while Tifa was casting Bolt on the wound. The two sword users rushed and slashed at its weapons that were firing at them. Harry remained and stabbed the blade into one of the open ports, forcing it to blow. Pulling the blade out, Harry jumped back down to the walkway next to Cloud in time to watch as Cloud began to glow. He dashed forward to stop right in front of the Airbuster and crouched down, bringing his sword back behind his head. He jumped straight up into the air and with a yell, slammed the blade straight back down.

The robot didn't stand a chance. As Cloud stepped back, panting lightly, the mech's two halves leaned away from each other before it exploded, taking out the walkway between Cloud and Harry's side and Barret and Tifa's side. The sudden shockwave reversed its direction after passing Cloud and Harry without warning, knocking the two of them toward the missing walkway and the near-fifty meter drop below. Cloud, however, managed to grab hold a piece of metal from the walkway that stuck out into nothingness. Harry's hand found itself wrapped around a small piece of pipe that ran underneath the walkway on either side.

"It's gonna blow! Let's go, Tifa! There's nothing we can do for them from here!" Barret shouted as an explosion began to rock the Reactor Tower.

"Barret! Can't you do something!?" Tifa cried.

The leader of AVALANCHE shook his head. "Not a damn thing."

The owner of the Seventh Heaven bar turned back to Cloud. "Cloud! Please don't die! You can't die! There's still so much I want to tell you!"

"I know, Tifa..." Cloud called back.

"Oh, so I don't matter?"

"Hey, you two gonna be awright?" Barret asked.

"We'll be fine!" Harry answered, "Heroes always survive! Ain't that right?"

"Worry about yourselves," Cloud agreed, "We'll be alright, but take care of Tifa!"

"Alright." Harry looked, and saw a grim, sorrowful expression on the face of the leader of AVALANCHE, "Sorry 'bout all this..."

"Stop talking like this is the end!" Cloud roared at him.

Barret nodded. "Alright, then. Later." He gripped Tifa securely by the shoulders and pulled her back as a massive explosion literally warped what remained of the walkway. The shockwave, combined with the metal twisting in their hands, made Cloud and Harry lose their grip and fall. The pair then proceeded to plummet to the slums below.

* * *

**I'm fairly surprised people are liking this. Well, then... I will try and not disappoint you all, then. Do review if you have the chance to.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Harry Potter's Meteor Crisis**

**Disclaimer & Author's Note:** I do not own Harry Potter, any mentioned Harry Potter characters, and I do not own the characters of Final Fantasy VII or the series themselves. I do own whatever minor OCs that pop up as fillers, and this strange half-altered novelization plotline.

* * *

**CHAPTER THREE**

The Wizarding World was now a much darker place. The poor distraught young woman just knew that this world, the magical world, had placed too much of their crap onto the shoulders of a guy who, ultimately, she wished that she could grant that one feeling he most desired: what it feels to be loved, what it means to be loved by family. Oh, she so wanted to have Harry in her life forever. Not as a significant other, but as someone who understood her. Like a sister can be for a brother, and vise versa. They had made him snap however, and made him take suicide to escape the pressure, the sorrow... Hermione was lost now that Harry was dead.

"It's all their fault," she muttered, "Dumbledore... that blasted old meddling goat-sucker... bollocks... all of them... the Ministry... Snape, Umbridge, Voldemort... all of them... I hate them all!"

She held herself, her heart screaming in emotional pain. She would do anything, if only to be with Harry again...

**Anything?**

She looked up. "... What was that...? It... It must be the wind..."

**Dear child... you certainly are alone...**

Now she got up, slowly grasping her wand. She felt her throat tighten a bit as she swallowed, muscles tense, and fingers tightly gripping the slender wood.

**Now, now, dear... no need for hasty spells thrown. Your soul is in pain. Even from where I am, can feel it cry out. You seek closure, comfort from the person that you lost, do you?**

"I'm hearing things. Oh Merlin, I've gone nuts."

**Oh, dear child...**

Suddenly a powerful explosion rips through the house, and Hermione's last clot of vision as her body was thrown out the wreckage of her room, was men in black cloaks and white masks, and the explosions sweeping through her neighborhood. However nobody else in her dimension saw a beautiful woman tenderly caress the soul of the now deceased Hermione Granger.

**Dear child... I can very much feel that you are destined for good things... I am sure Harry will need you very much, even if he is now with the future heroes of Gaia. Your memory may be altered, and this life will pretty much be nonexistent... however... to allow two souls lost in a dark and bleak world a chance to relive again...**

Minerva carried Hermione bridal style, taking her away. And as the Death Eaters all laughed at the pain they were causing for the muggles, Minerva however just could not leave without taking action with righteous judgement. For that, the small army of Death Eaters, totaling 150 marked men and women, would be under a vicious assault of the spell which Minerva casted as she donned her mask. A spell that she commanded as: Judgement Arrow. She floated away, watching as the spell she commanded took effect, and laid waste to the corrupted evil clad in black capes and bone-white masks.

**I have done this to Harry Potter, and now you, as his sibling, must find him in Gaia...**

And when Hermione would awaken again, she would be laying on an old but comfortable cot, the room made of a red rock-like material with an old man who wore rounded sunglasses, had long white facial hair in the from of mustache, beard, and... He seemed to float in mid-air!

"Dear child..." whispered Bugenhagen, "I am glad you have finally awakened. I feared you wouldn't have survived."

Her mind was dizzy.

"Where... where am I?" she asked.

"Oh ho... You are in the Village Hidden under the Stars. Or, known more in popular names: Cosmo Canyon," the old and wise man responded with a joyful chuckle, "on a journey by a few of our tribesmen to the oceans for catching fish, you were found floating towards the shore on a nearly broken and beaten wood raft. Plus your tent looked rather useful as firewood than shelter."

Before she could open her mouth, the old man calmly has her lay back down.

"Rest dear. The women in the kitchens will be notified and I'll have the doctor come back here to check you up."

"But... my brother... I'm looking for Harry..."

She closed her eyes, as tears escaped them.

"I want him back," she choked.

And Minerva, invisible, smiled sadly before she disappeared. Now... it was but a matter of time before their paths would cross.

**May they meet soon...**

=0=0=

Harry opened his eyes. Vivid memories flashed through the darkness that previously gripped him. People staring at him, talking about him, whispering things about him. The adults all against him, first signaling him out as a great hero to some insane nut who was poisoned by too much Mako in the leftover weapons dumped upon their shores and their lands, and then proclaiming him as someone who should die for not killing the man correctly when the man supposedly returned. However what made this nightmare different was a girl with almond or chocolate brown eyes, and curls of honey brown hair, who despite the hardships he's went through before his attempted suicide of drowning and hanging himself with a weighted object, had stuck by him, giving him the time if he needed somebody to talk to. She was always there for him, to listen to him...

_Hermione..._

Hermione, his dear sister... Oh, how he missed her. Wondering if she survived the quake that destroyed their no-longer existing island home...

"Oh! He moved!" the pretty brunette said. Harry, somehow, miraculously managed to land without any major injury (though he was sure his back was bruised; it was already very stiff). Apparently, the roof of the church they were now in had broken his fall and, being in poor condition, collapsed under the impact. He and Cloud landed on a small flower garden. Cloud was still unconscious.

"I really am sorry about dropping in on you like that, Miss," Harry apologized, once he took his surroundings, and felt bad that he damaged a beautiful flower garden.

"Don't worry about it," she replied, smiling kindly at him, "It's not as though you could have helped it. That explosion up on the plate sounded pretty big."

Harry shrugged. "It really wasn't as big as it should have been. We had planned on bringing down the entire Reactor, but Shinra had disarmed our bomb and blew up the walkway we were on as we attempted to escape. At least, I think so. Not really great drawing logical conclusions much... heh."

He paused for a moment. Harry was sure that Barret would not have summed up their mission to a complete stranger, but something about this girl seemed... off. She didn't come across as an evil or cruel person, but rather as a kind and nurturing soul. And, he felt attracted to her. Because of her personality, that warm smile she gave him...

"... Hermione..."

Now, his voice held sadness... a deep sadness.

"Oh... who is this Hermione person?"

"Someone who... who stood by my side no matter what happened to me... that is until I took the coward's way out and tried to kill myself without thinking of the consequences."

"Suicide...?"

"I survived trying to kill myself in the ocean. I was sixteen at this time. I washed ashore in the western continent. An old couple tended to me until they slapped sense into me that I should live my life anew... and... I did. But now I just feel guilty... because I left behind Hermione... my loving sister, Hermione."

He sighed. "It's been close to two years... and I still dream of her... I don't even know if she survived when the island where our home was had sunk into the ocean due to a powerful earth quake last year."

She moved closer to Harry... and then gave him a hug.

"Uh..."

"You looked like you needed a hug," she simply explained.

Harry hugged her back.

Cloud moaned again, stirring a bit more. The woman turned back to him, releasing Harry. "Hello, hello?" The spiky-haired blonde moved a bit more.

"Hello, hello!" the flower girl called again. Cloud finally opened his shining blue eyes and sat up. The girl stood up and stepped back to give him a bit of room.

"You okay?" she asked.

"Where are we?" Cloud questioned.

"This is a church in the Sector 5 slums," she answered, "You two suddenly fell on top of me. You really gave me quite a scare."

"I said I was sorry," Harry reminded her, "And you did tell me not to worry about it."

"We came crashing down...?" Cloud looked confused for a moment before looking up at what used to be a one-piece roof. Way up, they could just barely make out a broken metal walkway and the orange glow of flames.

"You weren't out for very long, Cloud. Maybe a few minutes or so."

"The roof and the flower bed must have broken your fall," the girl observed, "You're lucky."

"I wouldn't call falling fifty meters to smash through the roof of an old church _lucky_," Harry quipped, smiling to remove the sarcasm. She had helped them after they fell through her roof, after all.

"Flower bed... is this yours?" Cloud asked, gesturing to the flowers as he climbed to his feet. He dusted off his clothes, "Sorry about that."

The young woman smiled gently at him. "It's all right. The flowers here are quite resilient because this is a sacred place. They say you can't grow grass and flowers in Midgar at all...But for some reason, the flowers have no trouble blooming here." She glanced around at the walls of the old building, "I love it here."

The flower girl knelt down and began tending to a bruised-looking flower. "So, we meet again." When Cloud didn't answer, she looked up at him, somewhat sadly, "Don't you remember me?"

Cloud looked thoughtful before recognition crossed his face. "Yeah, I remember...you were selling flowers in the slums."

The girl clasped her hands, smiling a bright million watt smile. "Oh, I'm so happy! Thanks for buying the flowers!"

Harry tilted his head at Cloud. "You? Bought flowers? I didn't see you give anyone at the bar any flowers."

"That's because you were in the basement with Jessie when I gave them to Marlene for scaring her earlier kid," Cloud rebuked.

"Say...do you have any Materia?" the girl suddenly cut in.

Cloud turned to her and nodded. "Yes, some. Nowadays, you can find Materia anywhere."

Harry lifted his Carbon Bangle and showed his off as well.

The girl nodded in agreement. "But mine is special. It's good for absolutely nothing."

"... Good for nothing?" Cloud repeated, "You probably just don't know how to use it."

"No, I do...it just doesn't do anything," she answered, "I feel safe just by having it. It was my mother's..."

Harry smiled sadly. He could relate to Aerith's ordeal of safety. He still had something that belonged to his mother close to his heart, worn as a hidden necklace charm. His hand moved up slightly to feel the charm necklace hidden under his shirts.

The girl looked skyward. "Say, I feel like talking. Do you feel up to it?"

"I don't mind," Harry replied. Cloud shrugged.

"Wait here. I've got to check on my flowers. It'll just be a minute," she grinned at them before straightening the bent stems of several flowers.

"Oh!" She stood up again, "I nearly forgot. We don't know each other's names, do we?" She looked at Cloud and Harry, "My name is Aerith, the flower girl. Nice to meet you."

Harry went first. "I'm Harry. I... well, I guess for now I've been a bit of a traveler, and from a far-away island village."

"The name's Cloud," the spiky blonde next to him spoke up, "I do a little bit of everything..."

"Oh... a jack-of-all-trades," Aerith mused.

"Yeah, I do whatever's needed." The flower girl began to giggle, "What's so funny? What are you laughing at?" Cloud demanded, indignant.

"Sorry, I just-" Aerith began, but Harry cut her off.

"We've got company..." Indeed, standing in the front of the church, just inside the double-doors, stood a man with dark red hair and a pair of shades on his forehead. He was dressed in a smart, very dark-blue suit. He stood, watching them.

"Oh, sorry," Aerith added, "bad timing on my part..."

Cloud began moving forward toward the figure in the doorway. "Cloud! Don't let it get to you!" Aerith called to him.

The mercenary looked back and shrugged casually, as Harry motioned closer to Aerith, keeping his cool emerald eyes on the man in the dark suit.

"Say, Cloud. Have you ever been a bodyguard?" Aerith asked. Cloud gave her an incredulous look; Harry wasn't far off, either, "You DO, do everything, right?"

Cloud smoothed his hair. "Yeah, that's right."

"Then get me out of here. Take me home," Aerith requested.

"Ok, I'll do it. But it'll cost you," Cloud agreed.

"What about your prior agreements, Cloud?" Harry asked.

"I can get back to them once this job is done," the merc replied.

"Well then, let's see...How about if I go out with you once?" Aerith offered. Cloud thought it over for a minute, and then gave an affirmative nod. Harry blinked.

_Well, not the weirdest agreements of payment I ever heard before,_ Harry thought, remembering the time some girl wanted to pay him for rescuing her from a bunch of monsters in the Corel Mountains by giving him her virginity. Sure, he had his hormones surface now and then, but the girl was thirteen! Now he wondered if that girl was alright today...

Cloud turned toward the person in the doorway. "I don't know who you are, but..."

"You don't know me...?" the red-haired man asked, mocking.

Cloud's shoulders stiffened, then relaxed. "Oh yeah... I know you. That uniform..."

It was at this point that three Shinra guards rushed into the church and gathered into formation behind the red-haired man. "Hey, sis, this one's a little weird," one of them sneered.

"Shut up! You Shinra spy!" Cloud growled.

"Reno! Want him taken out?" another guard asked, addressing the red-haired spy.

"I haven't decided yet," came the reply.

"Don't fight here! You'll ruin the flowers!" Aerith protested, dragging Harry and Cloud toward a door in the back of the church, "The exit is back there," she whispered to them.

The three left through the door. Harry turned and closed it, briefly searching for some kind of lock before turning a small knob above the handle counter-clockwise.

"Hey boss, should we chase after them?"

"Yes, but... watch out of the flowers," Reno said as he walked through them, causing the guards to snap that he had ruined the flowers, brought bad karma to them, and would have the wrath of god upon him; Reno didn't hear them.

=0=0=

"That should buy a few seconds," Harry reasoned. He turned and followed Cloud and Aerith. The sight before his eyes made him stop and wonder.

They were in a large, three-story room. However, what appeared to be a missile had fallen through the roof, crashing through it and all three floors before coming to a dead stop in the basement. This left the entirety of all three levels nearly demolished; only stable bits and pieces of the floors remained, tacked to the wall, and there were still holes in what remained.

"Come on! This way!" Cloud beckoned them. He hopped over a gap in the walkway to a set of stairs along the wall and climbed up them. Aerith followed, barely making it to the bottom of the stairs as well. Harry took a running leap; his foot came down half-on, half-off the platform, causing it to collapse under his weight. His momentum carried him forward, and he fell to safety on the bottom step, unhurt.

"There isn't any time to be fooling around, kid," Cloud admonished, snickering.

"Bite me, Cloud," was his retort.

"Maybe later," Cloud smirked.

Harry resisted the urge to face palm.

The three of them arrived at the second floor and approached a gap. Cloud jumped across, but Aerith didn't follow him.

"There they are, over there!"

"They're here," Harry observed.

"Cloud!" Aerith cried.

The purple-clad mercenary nodded. "I know... looks like they aren't going to let us go."

"What should we do?" the flower girl asked.

"Well, we can't let them catch us, can they?" Harry replied. "Then, there's only one thing left." Harry jumped the gap, passing by Aerith and landing next to Cloud.

"Aerith! This way!" Cloud beckoned to her. The flower girl shook her head, "All right, I'll hold them off."

"Right. Make sure they don't get through!" Aerith nodded.

"The Ancient is getting away! Attack! Attack! Attack!" In response, the three blue-clad guards drew their rifles and began peppering the area around Aerith with gunfire. She fell to the ground to avoid the bullets, but the floor collapsed, sending Aerith tumbling down the length of the Shinra missile. She hit the basement floor and stood up, unhurt.

"Aerith!" Cloud and Harry cried out.

"Think we killed 'em? They shouldn't have put up a fight, I say!" Reno chuckled.

"Cloud! Help!" Aerith called.

"Damn!" the merc swore.

"What's that...?" Harry asked, pointing up to the rafters. There, perched on the intersections of support beams, were four big barrels.

"I see... Harry, help me push those barrels down on the Shinra!" Cloud ordered. Harry moved up to the rafters, "Aerith, just hold on!" He joined the emerald-eyed teen near the first barrel.

"If we drop this one, we should knock out that guard in front of Aerith," Harry reasoned.

"Okay. On three, then...one...two...three!" Both men pushed the barrel, toppling it over. They watched from perches equally precarious to the barrels as their makeshift cannonball fell, spinning, and landed squarely on one Shinra guard's head. The barrel exploded into splinters, and the guy was now unconscious.

"Bull's eye!" Harry shouted.

"We're not done, yet!" Aerith was now at the bottom of a set of stairs, with the second guard at the top, "Push that one!"

Harry complied, knocking over the barrel in the far corner. It landed behind the soldier as he ran toward the flower girl, who dodged away. Before the guard could turn and give chase, the barrel rolled down the steps and bowled over him sending his weapon over the edge and to the floor far below. He was down and out.

Aerith ran up the steps and jumped across to the next set. She was at the top when the final guard pointed his rifle at her. "Stop right there!" he ordered. Unfortunately for him, he did not expect Harry to nearly cause injury to himself. What he did was jump off the rafters, and his feet landed firmly on the man's shoulders. The momentum of his fall, plus the fact that he had now given the guy two broken shoulders, fell off as Harry had jumped off, only to grab Aerith at the last second before performing a dash.

"Thanks," Aerith called as she and Harry climbed up to meet Cloud in the rafters.

"Aerith, this way," Cloud beckoned, jumping up through the hole in the roof to the outside. Harry allowed Aerith to go first, smirking down at the fuming Reno when he gave the man the double bird and then escaped after them.

"Damn, she got away. Worthless grunts..." Reno calmed down, and looked at the hole thoughtfully, "who is that young man... such vibrant emerald eyes."

=0=0=

"Ha, ha...They're looking for me again," Aerith laughed darkly.

"You mean it's not the first time they've been after you?" Harry asked incredulously.

"...No."

"They're the Turks," Cloud remarked.

"Hmmm..."

"The Turks... They're an organization in Shinra. They scout for possible candidates for SOLDIER," Cloud explained.

"This violently? I thought they were kidnapping someone," Aerith replied.

The spiky-haired blonde nodded. "They're also involved in a lot of dirty stuff on the side... Spying, murder... you know."

"They look like it," Harry agreed, "Say, why were they after you anyway, Aerith? There must be some reason, right?"

"No, not really," Aerith replied, not meeting their eyes, "I think they believe I have what it takes to be in SOLDIER!"

"Huh..."

"Huh? What do you mean huh?" she turned towards Harry.

He shrugs in response. "Maybe you do, or maybe you don't. Who knows ne? You want to join?"

"I don't know..." the flower girl admitted, "But I don't want to get caught by THOSE people!"

"Then, let's go!" Cloud urged, standing up. Harry and Aerith climbed to their feet and hopped along the tops of crumbled buildings after the purple-clad mercenary. Harry was able to keep up with Cloud well, that and if he fell behind he performed a dash maneuver. They had stopped, because...

"Wait! Wait, I said!" Aerith, huffing and puffing, was several hops behind them. She carefully judged each gap before jumping them, and finally caught up a minute later.

"Slow... down... don't leave me..."

"Funny," Cloud mused, smirking, "I thought you were cut out to be in SOLDIER?"

"Oh, you're terrible!" Aerith pouted, causing Harry and Cloud to laugh. It was a few minutes before they calmed down, at which time, the flower girl said, "Hey... Cloud? Were you ever in SOLDIER?"

Cloud thought it over for a moment. "I used to be. How did you guess?"

"Your eyes. They have a strange glow."

"That's the sign of those who have been infused with Mako. A sign of SOLDIER." Cloud looked at the flower girl carefully, "But, how did you know about that?"

"... Oh, nothing!" Aerith replied, cheerfully, "Come on! Let's go, bodyguard!"

Harry chuckled a bit, before following Aerith, who this time went ahead of them, prompting Cloud to follow Harry.

"Say, Harry, when you did that... speed trick of yours... do you perchance have a Dash Materia on you?"

"Yeah, I do. I found it in the mountains when I was traveling from Junon to Midgar a year ago. Why do you ask?"

"Oh. No reason," she replied, _Zack used to have one,_ she thought. "Just... that they are a bit rare to even find now despite the common find of other types of Materia."

The trio jumped across several rooftops before Cloud found a path down to the ground. A few minutes later, the three of them safely set foot upon a path comprised of loose dirt.

"Phew!" Aerith panted, "Finally made it off! Now..." She looked around, taking in her surroundings, before pulling Harry and Cloud forward, "My house is over here. Let's hurry before they get here!"

As they walked, following Aerith, Harry heard a noise, and then saw a shadow descend on them. It was a mugger however this man looked like he was tainted with some sort of virus that turned him into a half giant hunchback. Harry blocked the man with Gryffindor Sword, and swung, sending the man crashing into a pile of trash as well as cutting off his left arm. Bellowing in pain and rage, he got up and attempted to stick Harry with a dagger, but Cloud came right up and struck the man hard over the head. He got up and ran off.

"That was close," said Harry turning to Aerith, "you okay?"

"Thanks to you. Now let's hurry. We won't be bothered if we get to the neighborhood."

Soon, Harry found himself in a slum, not unlike the neighborhood around Tifa's bar. A huge television screen was mounted on a massive wall, and was set to some sort of twenty-four news program. To his right, Harry noticed a Materia shop. To his left, he saw a weapon shop. A quick stop to buy three Potions, Aerith led them through the slums to a singular house behind it. A huge flower garden glowed green in the light of a magical-looking waterfall.

"Whoa!" Harry gasped.

"It's nice, isn't it?" Aerith said sadly.

"What's wrong? This place is really nice," Harry observed.

"It's nothing. Just..." the flower girl trailed off, shaking her head, "Never mind. Come on in."

She opened the door and led them inside. "I'm home, Mom."

A middle-aged, brown-haired woman came into the living room where they stood, clad in a green dress and a white apron. For her apparent age, Harry noted that she looked beautiful in that dignified kind of way.

Aerith gestured toward Harry. "This is Harry, a friend I met today." She turned toward Cloud, "And this is Cloud, my bodyguard."

Aerith's mother, who was in the middle of introducing herself to Harry as Elmyra turned to her daughter in shock. "Bodyguard!? You mean you were followed again? Are you all right? You're not hurt, are you?"

"I'm fine mom, see? Thanks to Cloud and Harry they got me here. No need to worry over me," she said, giving her mother a hug.

"Excuse me a bit," Harry said politely, as he headed out the door, "just wanted to check out that Materia shop."

Cloud nodded to him, as the door closed shut behind him. Harry turned around, facing the beautiful flower garden as he crossed the little wooden bridge. He carefully stepped through the long-stemmed flowers, admiring the scenery. He stumbled, however, when his foot came down on something hard and round. Harry stooped down and picked it up.

"A Materia orb," Harry breathed. It was a dark purple, signifying it as an Independent Materia. It was slotted

_Huh,_ Harry thought.

He wasn't completely thrilled with the prospect of taking more attacks as he counted himself lucky not to have been seriously hurt so far in the years, but the extra defense and dexterity made up for that. Harry recalled the words Cloud had said about his Counter-attack Materia during the ride to Sector Five before the trouble started. As Materia is used more, they grow more. Such as for example, Ice being used long enough would allow the second increase of a stronger Ice spell. He decided to take a look at his accessories on him. He removed all Materia he owned. First off, he moved Fire and All into a linked slot on the Materia band on his leather gauntlet he wore on his right hand. Then, the third slot was connected with his Restore Materia. He kept Dash on his Iron Bangle on his right ankle. Then, Ice got moved into the last slot on the Leather Gauntlet, and finally Harry slips Cover onto the third slot on his Carbon Bangle. With this set-up now in mind, Harry left the garden to explore the slums. Entering the Materia store, he checked the man's wares, and left with a Lightning Materia, moving Ice to his Carbon Bangle and the second slot now obtained his Lightning Materia. When he returned shortly and entered the house, he found the couch piled with blankets and pillows. Shrugging, Harry laid Gryffindor's Sword on the floor underneath the couch and slid underneath the covers. He fell asleep shortly afterward; his last thought was on his sister. Elsewhere, a young woman fell asleep, thinking of her brother.

=0=0=

Harry eventually woke up seeing Cloud, when he opened his mouth Cloud pointed to the door. Harry grabbed the sword and followed him outside quietly, and away from the house.

"Alright, what's up?"

"While you were admiring the flowers and then exploring the slums, Elmyra asked us to leave without Aerith, as she didn't want her to get into any trouble."

"Ah, so, we're going to Sector 7 then, right?"

"Yup, let's get going."

As they walked through the slums, Cloud looked towards Harry. "Hey kid, your Limit Break... how strong was it when we fought against that machine near the Reactor?"

"Hm... well... I guess it was around the strength of 130% damage, I don't know, truly. It's useful though when I fought against monsters that towered over me outside the city limits."

He nodded. "You know about the tiers, right?"

"Somewhat, yes," Harry replied, "Though people have more than one, they have to learn them by using the ones they have. Most people only reach the second tier and few reach the third, out of the four that are said to exist. Everyone starts on the first tier and by using the Breaks and defeating enemies – almost always monsters – they eventually move up to the second and third tier. But not many people can use such types of Desperation abilities."

"It's true. However about the fourth tier thing..."

"What about that forth tier?" Harry asked.

"Don't know much about it. I'm not sure if the fourth level really exists; it's said to contain legendary moves that are completely devastating to those they are used on. They can't be learned the normal way via leveling up; you may need a magical item of sorts or a complete and thorough mastery of the Limit Breaks of the first three tiers... or something like that."

Cloud shrugged. "You saw my move I used against the Airbuster, right?"

"Yeah, I did."

That would be counted as a First Tier ability, basically."

They left the town area, but then stopped. Lo and behold, there stood Aerith before the door that guarded access to Sector 6. Her hands were on her hips and she looked distinctly cross. "You're up bright and early."

"How could I ask you to go along when I knew it would be dangerous?" Cloud asked her.

"Are you done?" Aerith snapped. Cloud nervously smoothed his hair, "You have to go through the slum in Sector 6 to get to Tifa's 7th Heaven. I'll take you there. Come on!" The flower girl turned, opened the door with surprising ease, and then ran through. Harry and Cloud quickly followed her.

The path before them was pretty much a demolished highway. The roads was cracked and uneven, and littered with holes. A rusting, broken crane served as a ramp to higher ground where, Harry could see, stood the entrance to Sector 6 at the other end of the road. Harry shivered a bit, remembering the trouble he's had here before when he ran across a group of criminals whom been affected by a virus that turned them into blood-thirsty robbers.

They didn't get very far before what looked like a house accosted them. "What the hell!?" Harry stood, gaping. Cloud pulled his broadsword from his back; Aerith gripped a small stick that, with the click of a small button, lengthened into a sturdy staff.

"That's no house, kid," Cloud warned, "It's a monster house. I forget the name of the demon that possesses it, though."

"Yeah I know that! Just that I remember this piece of shit! It lured me INSIDE before!"

"And you went in?" Cloud questioned, perplexed.

"Excuse me for trying to escape from blood-thirsty monster men!"

"Guys!" Aerith shouted to shut them up. The roof opened up, and a missile popped out.

"Shit!"

It launched the missile right at Harry. Cloud and Aerith moved out of the way, and Harry dove to the side as it flew, and impacted the wall behind him with a small explosion. Cloud rushed forward, hacking away at the paneling, and creating a hole. He ducked back to avoid a counter swipe. Then Aerith tapped into her Fire Materia she had on her, casting forth a bout of flames to impact the demon house. The entire thing shuddered and, with a big explosion that caught them by surprise, suddenly sprouted arms, legs, a head, and weaponry.

The weaponry flipped on and fired upon Harry, who dashed to and fro to dodge, coming right in and leaping into the air with a full swing. The gun arm was cut clean off, and Cloud and Aerith noticed the steam that rose from the cut, ignoring how loud the demon hidden within the dangerous living house shrieked. As he landed, the doors exploded open, and then Cloud and Aerith saw what looked like a hand of some sort snagged Harry, and withdrew, the doors sealing shut.

"Harry!" Cloud shouted.

More screams and shrieks echoed, as the house shuddered. Suddenly pink cherry blossom petals billows outward like a cyclone, before the force explodes. The demon inside the house perished, and the house, the weapons, disintegrate into debris. Cloud stabbed his sword into the hardened earth and rushed forward, throwing off the debris before Harry broke free.

"Shit..."

"Damn, kid..."

"Hey spiky," Harry said.

"That was weird, kid," he said, helping Harry from the rubble of what remained of the demon house, "another Limit Break?"

"Yeah," he responded, "but I hardly use it, only the Blade Lunge."

"Harry, are you okay?" Aerith asked, concerned for the teen.

"I'm fine, Aerith," he said to ease her worries.

"Let's keep moving."

Nonetheless, the three of them started walking again, only having to stop twice to fight off a swarm of silver insects that looked like vastly overgrown lice to Harry, which he burned down with some nice-placed Fire spells. They eventually made it to through the passage without harm and wandered to a ruined section of debris and a half ruined playground for little kids.

The flower girl walked up to a large children's slide that resembled some sort of mouse-cat combination. "I can't believe it's still here," Aerith breathed. She quickly ran around back and reappeared a second later on top of the slide, "Cloud! Get over here!"

"She really likes you, Cloud," Harry grinned.

"Shut it, kid." Nevertheless, Cloud joined Aerith atop the slide. When the spiky blonde could see Harry again, Harry made a whipped motion with his hands and sat down on the single remaining swing on a nearby swing set. Cloud gave him the finger behind Aerith's back.

He just remained there, listening to Aerith and Cloud talk, about Cloud being in SOLDIER, and Aerith saying that Cloud reminded her of a guy she liked for awhile. The sound of a massive gate opening sprang up behind them. They looked, and found the gates to Sector 7 pulled themselves apart to admit passage to a cart drawn by a big yellow bird, which he noticed was a Chocobo. As the cart turned to go into Sector 6, Harry saw a familiar-looking woman in a sparkling blue dress in the back of the carriage.

Cloud stood up and jumped down to the ground. Harry stood beside him. "Tifa!?" The gate closes with a loud clang.

"Tifa!?" Harry repeated.

"The girl in the cart was Tifa?" Aerith asked, "Where was she going? She looked kind of odd..." She hopped down beside them and gave chase.

"Wait! We'll go on!" Cloud called to her, "You go home!" But too late, Aerith had already disappeared down the path after the carriage.

As Harry and Cloud ran after her, Harry couldn't help cracking, "Women: Can't live with them, can't live without 'em. Right, Cloud?"

"Unfortunately," Cloud agreed, chuckling with a smirk.

=0=0=

Wall Market. That's what the sign hanging on the archway in front of Harry said.

Aerith turned around and stepped up to them. "This place is scary in a lot ways. Especially for a girl, so we've got to find Tifa fast."

"Frankly, I'd be more worried about ourselves," Harry muttered. He never had been here before but this place screamed Red Light District to him. Who knew what kind of perverts hung around this spot?

"Let's look around, ask a few key questions."

The three of them started walking around, asking about... well... girls (Aerith received some strange looks, outside the leers she was already receiving). One guy who overheard them told the trio to check the Honey Bee Inn, which was just off the entrance to Wall Market. They made their way there, and found the so-called Honey Bee Inn. Of course, not really hard to notice the bright neon lights that decorated the spot, and some perverts laying outside (one of which was an off-duty Shinra soldier that made Harry and Cloud a bit tense).

"Welcome!" a hotel clerk-person greeted them in a loud, booming voice standing outside the door, "Even unpopular dweebs like you may meet your destiny here! You look for a girlfriend, too?"

"You know a girl named Tifa?" Harry asked.

"Hey, you're pretty fast. Tifa's our newest girl," the man nodded. "But, she's having an interview right now. Here at the Honey Bee Inn, it's customary for all the new girls to be taken to Don Corneo's mansion. Don Corneo's a famous dilettante. Now he wants to settle down and is in the market for a bride."

Harry's expression turned sour.

"Listen, kid, the Honey Bee Inn is a private club. Only members with the proper Club ID can enter. Shoo, shoo," the manager waved them off.

_Ass_ Harry thought with disdain.

They began to leave. "Okay, so Tifa's at Don Corneo's place right now?" Aerith confirmed.

"Looks that way," Harry nodded, "I think I heard someone mention that Don Corneo resided at the end of Wall Market."

"Alright, then that's where we're going."

Once they arrived at the manor of Don Corneo, it was easy to see who obviously lived there. The name Don Corneo was all over the place. They were about to step through the front doors, but a door man halted them. "This is the mansion of Don Corneo," he stated with a light Brooklyn accent.

"Really?" Harry asked, sarcasm influencing his tone, "I thought it was a hovel retreat for nuns." Cloud snorted in mirth.

"Look, kid, I'm required to say this, so shaddup!" the doorman snapped. He took a breath and tried again.

"This is the mansion of Don Corneo, the most powerful man in Wall Market. And-" He then realized he was talking to a pair of guys and growled, "Look, the Don's not into men. So don't let me catch you around here again..." He trailed off as he saw Aerith. "Hey! You've gotten another cute one with you!"

The flower girl pulled them back. "Hey, this looks like the Don's mansion. I'll go take a look. I'll tell Tifa about you," she whispered.

"No! You can't!" Cloud protested.

"Why not?"

"You DO know what kind of place... this is, don't you?" the spiky blonde asked.

"Then what do you want me to do? You want to go in with me?"

Cloud crossed his arms. "Well, being a man, that'll be pretty hard."

"And if we bust in there, it'll cause too much commotion," Harry remarked.

Harry could barely hear Aerith giggling over Cloud's hushed speech. "But, we can't let Aerith go in there alone. Oh man... first, we need to find out if Tifa's alright..." He finally noticed the flower girl's hysterical giggling, "What's so funny, Aerith!?"

"Cloud, Harry, why don't you two dress up like girls? It's the only way."

"WHAT!?" Cloud and Harry both shrieked in protest, their voices going unnaturally high.

Aerith ignored them and turned to the doorman. "Just wait, I have a couple of friends I want to bring."

"Aerith!" Harry hissed.

"I can't..." Cloud protested, but Aerith cut him off.

"You ARE worried about Tifa, aren't you? Then come on, hurry!"

"Aerith, you are completely off your rocker," Harry grumbled as she pulled them rather forcefully toward a clothes shop they had seen on their way to the mansion.

Cloud was in agreement. Both boys just knew that this experience was going to be a wild one.

* * *

**If you are confused... in the HP world, Harry committed suicide at age sixteen. He awakes in Gaia at the same age... one year goes and he's seventeen and leaving the village he was temporarily living at **(bet you can't guess, even though I had laid out some clues)**, living a new life and going to see the world. A year later his "island home" sunk via an earth quake as he travels to Midgar. Currently, he is eighteen. Now, Hermione... she dies from the assault of Death Eaters terrorizing the muggles of Europe. She is eighteen, because **(Final Fantasy Wiki has more info if you wish to know who Minerva is)**. It was her that had brought Harry to this new world, granting him another chance at life, and, to also grant the planet a higher chance of survival against the future calamity that would be brought upon it. Hermione would join Harry, because of how I made her to be; attached to Harry in the bonds of a brother and sister type. In her and his renewed life, all granted by Minerva... Harry and Hermione are siblings.**

**I would have tried to make a HarryxHermione pairing, however I got something planned for Harry **(and even if some want HarryxHermione, as they will be siblings in this story... I really don't feel like writing out incest parts for this story)**, and it involves a spunky kunoichi from Wutai. If there's going to be Harry Potter elements, let there be Hermione. She's one of my favorite female characters aside Daphne Greengrass, Luna Lovegood, and Nymphadora Tonks. Some edits were made though, so excuse me.** :P **Now the question is: What is Mione's characteristic fighting style? You have until the gang reaches the Gold Saucer to make choices via voting on my Author page.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Harry Potter's Meteor Crisis**

**Disclaimer & Author's Note:** I do not own Harry Potter, any mentioned Harry Potter characters, and I do not own the characters of Final Fantasy VII or the series themselves. I do own whatever minor OCs that pop up as fillers, and this strange half-altered novelization plotline.

* * *

**CHAPTER FOUR**

She turned to the clerk behind the counter as she dragged Cloud and Harry into the shop. "Excuse me! I'd like to get a couple of dresses!"

"Umm..." the clerk replied hesitantly, clearly uncomfortable, "It might take a little time. Will that be alright?"

"What's the problem?" Aerith asked.

"Well, my father, the owner, has been in a slump lately. You see, he makes all the dresses," the boy answered.

"And, where is your father?" the flower girl questioned.

The lad shook his head sadly. "He's probably plastered at the bar."

"So... you're saying we can't get a dress unless we do something about your father?" Aerith asked.

"Tough luck, that," Harry muttered. The flower girl elbowed him to be quiet.

"Yes, I'm sorry. He's caused so much trouble..." the clerk gasped as realization hit him. "You'd help me bring him back?"

"Well, if we don't do something, we don't get dresses, right?"

"Really? Please help my crazy old dad. I just don't know what to do anymore," the clerk pleaded, looking defeated.

"Alright, we'll do something. Let's go, you two." Aerith led them away from the shop and to the pub next door. Sitting there at the bar was an older man that bore significant resemblance to the clerk at the clothes shop.

Aerith walked right up to him. "Excuse us, but are you the father of the boy at the clothes shop?"

"I own the clothes shop," he replied, a bit slurred from one too many drinks, "but I ain't your father."

"I didn't say that," the flower girl protested.

"Make us some clothes," Cloud cut in, gesturing toward Harry and himself.

"Cloud!" Harry hissed, alarmed.

"Relax, kid. It's only a disguise."

"You could have said it more properly."

He was ignored.

"I don't make men's clothes. And I don't feel like makin' anything right now," the clothes shop owner replied haughtily.

"Cloud, Harry, you two wait over there for a second. I'll try to talk to him. Have a drink or something."

"Come on, kid." Cloud pulled Harry away to a nearby table that was, with the level of background noise, out of earshot of the bar, "What'll you have?"

"Oh! Uh... what do they serve?" Harry asked.

"Beer mostly, and Ale, mead, spirits," Cloud replied, glancing at a menu that had been carelessly left on the table, "Water, of course, but it's probably not very good for you. Can you handle your alcohol?"

"Can you sit on a stool and drink?" Harry quipped..

"Touché," Cloud conceded, "Is it legal for you to drink?"

"I'm eighteen, but truthfully, never had an adult beverage yet.."

"All right then. Hey, barman! Bring us a couple beers!" Cloud called.

"Comin' right up!" came the reply. A minute later, a waitress came over and plunked two mugs of cold, frothy beer before them. Cloud gave her a small sum of Gil, including the tip.

"Don't try to drink it too fast if this is your first time, kid. You'll get burned," Cloud warned before guzzling his beer.

Heeding the older man's warning, Harry took a long, slow draught. He swallowed, not particularly liking the taste. "Not bad..." Harry repeated, "It kinda tastes like soda... without the soda."

"That's beer for ya, kid. It's an acquired taste," Cloud laughed.

By the time Harry managed to finish his beer, Aerith returned. "Okay, he'll make some dresses for you two."

"That's what I was afraid of," Harry groaned. He and Cloud stood up and followed the flower girl. As Harry slipped through the tarp, he saw the girl who served them the beer wink at him with a flirty smile. He chuckled a bit, getting dragged by Cloud.

"Oh, you're here," the owner declared, seeing the trio enter the shop, "They're ready. Go ahead and try them on."

Despite his misgivings, Harry was impressed. "You made the dresses that quickly?"

The owner laughed. "I'm an old man, son. With the amount of experience I have, you learn some nifty shortcuts that don't skimp on the quality." He handed Cloud a purple dress made of silk, and gave Harry a dark green silk dress.

Hesitantly and grimacing all the way, Harry stepped into the first booth while Cloud took the second. Harry turned and closed the shutters and removed his clothes. He slid the dress up, but couldn't seem to get it quite right.

"How... do you put this thing on?" he heard Cloud ask aloud. He then heard Cloud cry out in protest, "Hey! What are you doing!?"

Whatever Aerith did to Cloud, she soon peeked in on him, making him cover himself and stop from also taking his boxers off. After awhile though of waiting, Aerith turned back around to see the guys in their disguises. The owner and the boy both looked over as well from the counter.

"Hm… wigs!" Aerith said, "Well for Cloud that is. I can do something with your hair. It's long enough."

"Uh…"

"Get out of those dresses, boys," she ordered with a smile, and the two guys returned to the dressing stalls, grumbling the entire time. As they exit out once again, Aerith was done talking with the owner.

"I see. Ya know, I would talk to Big Bro down at the gym nearby, if you're looking for a wig."

"Aerith, what did you tell him?" Cloud questioned.

"Does it matter?" Aerith shot back, indignant, yanking the two boys out of the shop and off towards the gym.

"Uh, to be honest, Cloud, I really don't want to know what Aerith told him," Harry whispered into the blonde's ear.

"Hm, you have a point, kid," Cloud agreed. The trio stepped inside and Aerith began talking to what appeared to be a man in women's clothing.

That man looked at Cloud and Harry. "Are you...the ones who want to be cute?"

"Cute?" Harry and Cloud repeated, looking affronted.

"Right, and about the wig..."

"Yeah, I heard. But it'll cost ya," the cross-dresser remarked.

"Urggh!" One of the large men that were working out stopped his exercise and came over, "Big Bro! The only way you're gonna get cuter is if you can beat Big Bro!"

"That's right! You've got to compete with us!" one of the men doing squats in the ring to Harry's right called out, flexing his arms.

"You're Big Bro?" Harry asked, right eyebrow arched in disbelief.

"Right," the transvestite nodded, "Hm, I know. Let's do squats."

"All right! We'll beat you out of this gym!" the first man cheered.

"Shut yer trap and get over here!" the leader of the gym ordered. The first man came over, and Cloud stepped up while Harry stood beside Aerith, "Now, I'll explain the rules. Whoever has the most squats in thirty seconds gets the wig."

"Got it," Cloud nodded.

"Grr! I'm not going to lose! Big Bro's wig is MINE!" Cloud's squatting opponent growled.

"Just be quiet," Big Bro snapped. He turned back to Cloud, "It's not fair for you to start right away. So, you want a practice round?"

"I don't need to practice," Cloud grunted.

Nodding, he pulled out a stop watch and set it for thirty seconds. "Now, let's begin. Start!"

Despite the man's probable years at doing squats, Cloud had beaten the pants off him. After thirty seconds passed, the man had eighteen squats; Cloud had done somewhere close to thirty.

"Wow, you're really something," Big Bro told Cloud, "kay, I'm a man of my word." He handed Cloud a blonde wig with pigtails. The color of the wig matched exactly.

"Don't worry, Harry," Aerith whispered as the man complained about losing, only to be slugged by Big Bro's Fist of Steel as one man remarked, "I can manage something with your hair to make you look more feminine."

=0=0=

Dresses, other rows of items, and a minor breakdown in the Honey Bee Inn later, Harry and Cloud dressed as women walked with Aerith, who was wearing a strapless crimson dress. Oh, how embarrassing this was… and slightly hot too as Cloud and Harry wore their other clothes under the dresses. Cloud's wig gave him twin pigtails braided, with a few feminine fringes lining the forehead. For Harry, his unruly hair was tamed long enough to be pulled into a high ponytail.

They soon arrived at the Don's Mansion where the guy at the gates had his eyes bulge out with a perverted leer. "Da-yum! Your friends're hot too! Come in, come in!" He turned toward the door and spoke into an intercom, "Three ladies coming through!" There was a small beep, and the doors opened. The doorman ushered them inside.

They now stood in a small lobby, with a receptionist waiting for them. "Hey, ladies," he greeted them, "I'll go and let the Don know you're here. Wait here. Don't go wandering around..."

"Like we'd really listen to that?" Harry mumbled to himself as the guy disappeared, and the man from outside returned to his post. They were now alone.

"Now's our chance. Let's find Tifa," Aerith suggested. Seeing no other doors on the ground floor, they climbed up to the balcony above and tried two locked doors before coming to an open one. Behind it was a long stairway. They crept down and entered the room. Harry immediately wished they hadn't. They now stood in what could only be described as a torture room. A table with the outline of a human body was in the middle, and directly above it, hanging from the ceiling, was a giant, circular saw blade. Tools and implements of torture rested in racks along the four walls, and in the back stood what seemed to be a large refrigerator. And there in the room of torture was Tifa, in a sparkly blue dress.

"Tifa?" Aerith called, prompting Tifa to turn around, "Nice to meet you. I'm Aerith. Cloud and Harry told me about you."

"And you are?" the bartender and part-time AVALANCHE member snapped, "Hey, you're the one with Cloud and Harry in the park."

The flower girl nodded. "Right, with Cloud and Harry."

Tifa turned to look away. "Oh."

"Don't worry. We just met; it's nothing," Aerith reassured her.

"What do you mean, don't worry... about what?" She demanded, before she shook her head, "No, don't misunderstand. Cloud and I grew up together. Nothing more. And Harry... somewhat of a little cute brother in one of my friends' opinion."

The mentioned mercenary was currently looking back up the stairs, staring into space along with an embarrased Harry. "Poor Cloud and Harry," Aerith teased, "having to stand here and listen to both of us call him nothing." She turned to the spiky blonde and dark-haired teen, "Right?"

The two never felt so embarrassed in their lives.

Tifa jumped. "Harry? Cloud!?" Once she was over her shock at their appearance, she began firing questions left and right, "Why are you dressed like that!? And what are you doing here!? Forget that, what happened after your fall? Are you hurt!?"

Cloud turned to her. "Hey, give us a chance to explain!" he interrupted her. "We're dressed like this... because there was no other way to get in here."

"There would have been if I had anything to say about it," Harry grumbled. The material was nice, but he was starting to sweat.

"We're all right, Tifa," Cloud continued explained, ignoring Harry's grumbling, "Aerith helped us out."

"Oh, Aerith did..."

"Tifa, explain. What are you doing in a place like this?" Harry asked her.

"Yeah, uh..." Tifa hesitated, glancing pointedly at Aerith.

"Ahem! I'll just plug my ears..." Aerith cottoned on. She strode across the room and clapped her hands over her ears.

"I'm glad you're both OK," Tifa admitted quietly.

"Thanks. What happened?" Cloud pressed.

"When we got back from the Number 5 Reactor, there was this weird man. So, Barret caught him and squeezed some information out of him."

"That's when the Don's name popped up," Cloud remarked.

"Right, Don Corneo," Tifa nodded, "Barret told me to leave the lech alone... but something's been bothering me."

"And so you decide to go and find the information straight from him."

The bartender nodded. "So I made it here, but now I'm in a bind. Corneo is looking for a bride. Every day, he gets a few girls, chooses one of them, and then... well... Anyway, I have to be the girl or I'm out for tonight."

"Sorry, but I overheard that last part," Aerith rejoined them, "If you know the girls, it shouldn't be a problem, right?"

"I guess so, but..."

"Well, we have four here, right?"

"No way, Aerith!" Cloud protested, "I can't let you get involved!"

"Oh, so it's all right for Tifa to be in danger?" the flower girl demanded.

"No, I don't want Tifa in..." Cloud began to defend himself, but was cut off by Tifa.

"Is it all right?" the bartender asked the flower girl. The four of them gathered near the bottom of the stairs.

"I grew up in the slums," Aerith explained, "I'm used to danger. Do you trust me?"

Tifa nodded. "Yes. Thanks, Ms. Aerith."

The flower girl shook her head. "Call me Aerith."

They were interrupted by a voice calling down from the top of the stairs. "Heeeeeey!" They looked up to see the receptionist, "It's time, lades. The Don is waiting!" He turned around to leave, leading back out to the lobby.

"I told ya not to wander around... I tell ya, women nowadays..." He looked back at the quartet, "Hurry up, will ya!?"

"I probably don't need to ask, but..." Cloud began.

"The other girls are... us... right?" Harry finished.

"You're right, there was no need," Tifa began.

"... To ask," Aerith finished.

=0=0=

They were immediately ushered into a very posh office. A fat, balding man in a red bathrobe with white trim and a line of graying-blonde hair down the center of his head was smoking a big cigar from behind his desk. On the right upper temple of his balding forehead was a tattoo of a heart being squeezed by a cartoon eel. Two tall, lanky lackeys stood to either side.

The black-skinned, blonde-haired lackey spoke. "All right, ladies! Line up in front of the Don!"

Tifa stood at the far left of the line. Then it was Harry, Cloud, and Aerith. "Hmm! Good, splendid!" Don Corneo's voice spoke. His voice gave off that aura of pervertedness. He and Cloud kept their faces down in an effort to further disguise their true gender. However, it seemed to have had the unintended effect of making them look more demure.

Corneo jumped over his desk and checked Aerith out in a rather lewd manner. She didn't fidget. "Now, let's see...Which girl should I choose?" the Don muttered to himself.

He went to the opposite end and leered at Tifa. "Hmm-hmm!"

He looked at Cloud next, who turned his face away when Corneo tried for a closer look. "This one...?"

He peered at Harry next, who watched him from the corner of his eye. "Or this one...?"

Corneo never took his eyes off of Harry, and the way Harry kept his view from him made him look cuter. He stepped back and cried.

"Woo-hoo! I've made up my mind! My choice for tonight is..." He paused as he spun on his heel, seemingly for dramatic effect, and then went in for Harry, "This dark and mysterious girl! Who looks cute with those glasses," he giggled as an afterthought.

Everyone looked at Harry surprised, though none were as shocked as he was. "Wha... wait a second! I mean... er... please wait!" He almost slipped on his female voice.

"Woo-hoo!" Corneo cried in glee, "I love chickies that play hard-to-get! Yeowza!" He turned to his flunkeys, "You can have the rest."

The lackeys saluted. "Yes sir! Thank you, sir!"

Impatiently, Corneo tugged on Harry's arm. "Well then...shall we go my pretty?"

As he was led away, Harry managed to glance back at Cloud, Tifa, and Aerith.

_Help me!_ He tried to mouth to them, but then the door shut, blocking them from view. The men however were busy congratulating one another with scoring some ladies to see Harry mouthed help. Harry suddenly found himself locked in a room with a man who obviously still believed him to be a girl, and looked ready to have his way, consensual or not.

=0=0=

Harry just looked… and looked. The entire bedroom just screamed, "PANSY PERVY PLAYBOY!" what with all the crimson clothes, bed sheets, ECT. There were strung lights everywhere, and, he shuddered almost when he saw the various different sex objects half buried in wicker basket shaped like a heart. There was even… oh dear god, was that a ball gag in there with a cat-o-nine tails?

"Hee, alright pussycat, COME TO DADDY!" He whooped lustily, before hopping at him. Harry ducked out of the way as Corneo crashed into the table stands. Harry had run behind the bed, where he caught something of interest, pocketing what he read was an Ether bottle.

Corneo got back up and jumped back onto the bed like a horny male dog. "You're so cute; I never get tired of lookin' at ya."

Corneo then gained a rather thoughtful look.

"Say, do you really like me?"

_Lie, lie, lie, lie, lie, lie,_ Harry's mind berated him. He nodded.

Corneo giggled. "You sure know how to make a guy feel good!" He giggled again, "So, whatcha wanna DO?"

He mentally cringed. _I'm going to hate saying this... but it must be done._ "Uh... whatever you want... big daddy."

He squealed completely missing the sneer, doing a little dance before plopping onto his hands and knees. Corneo then shifted onto his knees and did pelvic thrusts. Harry got a good enough view of the man's obvious boner.

_Ugh, fuck that was just nasty..._

"WOO! Can't stand it! Alrighty then..." He gave Harry a lusty grin before bouncing closer back to hands and knees, "Gimme a kiss! KISS ME!"

Corneo closed his eyes and puckered his lips, making kissy sounds. Harry's mouth was dropped open, unsure of what to do. If he kissed, he'd then throw up, if not, Corneo will suspect something.

"Uh, I don't think so," Harry said, turning away.

"WHA!? Why not? ... Is there someone else?" He growled.

_Fuck, fuck, fuck, I'm so screwed!_ He yelled mentally. "I just... erm..."

"Hey!"

The two looked to the closed doors, where there was a sudden commotion, and sounds of punches, kicks, screams, and the sound of metal striking human flesh. Then the door is broken down by Cloud, as he runs right in followed by Tifa and Aerith.

"Oh god! You came!" Harry shouted. Now, people right here would start to make wisecracks at how much innuendo can be used on that sentence alone... trust me, the author of this story sure did.

"That can be taken in so many different ways," said Cloud, revealing Harry's sword.

Corneo then looked at Harry, gasping at the sudden drop in estrogen. Harry grinned as he ripped the dress off and caught Gryffindor's Sword Cloud threw towards him. Strapping it on, he ripped the sword out and held it in a threatening manner at Corneo's view.

"The hell is going on here?" Corneo snapped.

"Shut up, pervert!" Harry threatened, walking closer as the man backed away. He moved, but Cloud got in his way. In the other direction, Tifa stood there, cracking her knuckles with a grin, as Aerith moved beside Harry.

"We'll be doing the questions, now," he said. Corneo eyed the weapon with fear.

"How does a man feel getting his balls in a pickle jar full of rubbing alcohol as a friendly little gift?" Corneo whimpered, as Harry continued, "because I'll make it happen... if you tempt me."

Corneo shrieked in terror. "I'LL TALK! JUST DON'T CUT OFF MY PRECIOUS JEWELS!"

"Nice one," Cloud said.

"Thanks. Now talk Corneo... or else," Harry threatened, the light adding the effect of reflecting off the lenses of his glasses, not to mention the sneer he gave.

"What do you want?" he whimpered.

"About this lackey that was apparently sent by you. Now… if you don't answer truthfully…" He gives Corneo a poke on the crotch.

"Fine! Fine! I made 'em finds out where the gun-arm man was. But I was ordered to do so," he sweated.

"What else?"

"I... I don't know!"

"Better keep talking because if you don't... I'm cutting off more than just testicles."

AT the state of his manhood being threatened he screamed. "FINE! It was Heidegger, Head of Shinra's Public Safety Maintenance! He gave me the orders!" he sobbed, looking really pathetic at that moment.

"The head of Public Safety Maintenance?" Cloud remarked.

"Keep talking pervert," Harry threatened, pricking his crotch more.

He yelped. "You're serious, aren't you... ohboy, ohboy, ohboy. Well I'm not fooling around either, you know? Shinra's trying to crush a small rebel group called AVALANCHE and wanna infiltrate their hideout. They said they were hiding out in Sector 7's slums, so they're gonna crush them, literally."

"How?"

"The Sector 7 plate. They're going to blow up the pillars that support the plate up, thus destroying the slums and wiping out the rebels. At least it's not here in Sector 6."

"He's going to wipe out Sector 7!?" Harry exclaimed in horror.

"Cloud, we have to get back to Sector 7 and quick," Tifa told the man.

"I'll go as well," Aerith said.

They started running but Corneo yelled at them in a pleading voice. "WAIT! Please wait!"

"Oh piss off!" Harry snapped, "We're done with you."

"No, wait! It'll take a second. Now, how do you think scum like me feels when they babble on about truth? A) They've pretty much given up on life? B) They're sure they'll win? Or C) People like me have no idea what the hell's going on?"

Harry scoffed. "Megalomaniacs like you are sure they'll win."

Corneo sneered, yanking on a string. The floor below them opened into a trap door, as they fell into the darkness. Corneo whooped into the open trap hole. "You're right, you little prick!" He then did a silly little jig on the bed mattress as the trap doors sealed shut.

=0=0=

Meanwhile, high above the city of Midgar, a rotund man in the burgundy suit and a cigar in his mouth was currently in mid-conversation with a thin man with dark hair and a dark beard, and a fat man with a full beard and a horse-like laugh. The president was sitting in a luxury office chair, behind a metal half domed-shaped desk, with lights highlighting areas as flashy decoration, and four computer screens surrounding the corners of the desk surface, keyboard, and a picture of a young man with blonde in a white business suit with white trench coat-like coattails billowing out from behind.

"So, how are preparations going?"

Heidegger laughed. "Smoothly, very smoothly sir! I assigned Reno of the Turks to this."

The man in blue turned towards Mr. Shinra. "President! Are we really going to do this? Simply destroy a group which has few members...?"

"Now Reeve," President Shinra stated, standing up from his chair and walking around his large desk, "Is there a problem? You want out?"

"... No. But as head of the Urban Development Department, I have been involved in the building and running of Midgar. Besides, the mayor's against this whole-"

"Reeve, you should flush down those personal problems in the morning!" Heidegger shouted, as he walked towards the stairs then stopped with his back turned to the two men, "besides, the mayor just sits in his office and stuffs his face with food. You really call THAT a mayor?" He turned and saluted the president, "Now if you'll excuse me sir!"

He turned around and walked away, down the steps, leaving a fuming Reeve. President Shinra placed a fatherly hand on his shoulder. "You're tired," Shinra remarked, "Why don't you take a day off and go somewhere?" Reeve looked at the President for a moment, and then nodded slowly and left.

He watched until the man was clear out of his office and view, before a dark grin crossed over the face of the President. "We'll destroy Sector 7 and report that AVALANCHE did it. Then, we'll send in the rescue operation care of Shinra, Inc... Heh, heh, heh. This is perfect..." He broke into a dark laugh.

=0=0=

Harry woke up, and found himself in the sewers, he suspected, was under the slums of Sector 6. "Damn... dirty water."

He got up and took off his shirts and whatnot before wrenching the water out, and then grudgingly put it back on. He made sure that he gets these clothes washed. He also did a quick check on his supplies in his pants pocket/accessory bag, and then sighed in relief. Nothing was broken in it. Cloud stirred awake, as Harry went to check on the girls. They were okay of course, not many injuries from their drop out of Don Corneo's office.

"Damn... that was a trip," muttered Cloud.

"Well, the worse is over, but we have to get to Sector 7 and quickly," Harry reminded Cloud, as he had helped Aerith up off the ankle-deep water.

"Harry's right," Tifa agreed, wincing a bit at her sore bottom, and the slight bad smell the sewers had. Suddenly, a low grumbling roar echoed through the sewers.

"What was that...?"

The quartet had their weapons at the ready, and squeezed together in the cramped space. However this made the stench seem worse because the foursome had been splashed with the sewer water when they fell in, possibly drenched in who-knows-what.

Before them, a weird, misshapen creature approached them seemingly straight out of the darkness. It was colored primarily a dull scale green, and vaguely humanoid, despite its towering over them in height. Half its skin was covered in rough scale-like grills while the rest were smooth like rubber. Its long arms with three-fingered claws, chained wrists with the chain not attached to an anchor in the darkness, and it was sporting a long tail with an odd knob on the end.

"Shit," Harry cursed, "That's one ugly monster!"

It roared, angry at Harry's exclamation and tried to lash out but couldn't, so it caught Harry with its tail. He grunted as he was slammed into the wall. Cloud growled and charged slashing at the tail and dealing a critical wound.

Aerith ran up to Harry and helped him up. Tifa rushed and attacked with a Beat Rush Limit Break which made Harry mentally note to never piss Tifa off, and Cloud ran forward slashing a glowing near-complete square with an X in the middle, before the energy flared from it via an explosion. The monster roared and beat its chest before roaring. The sewer water increased, creating a tsunami that nearly drowned them. They were injured, but the monster took the worse of the damaging attack. Harry, under a white glow, tapped into his Restore Materia ("Cure!"), as a warmth of energy enveloped the four, healing them all. He threw his sword, watching it sink into the head, before running, jumping, and dragging the blade down into the ground before doing a backward somersault landing beside Aerith. The flower girl casted Fire followed by Tifa with Bolt and Cloud with an Ice spell.

The Fire didn't do much; the Bolt did a bit more because half its body was wet and the Ice hardened portions of its skin whilst leaving flaky ice crystals. The monster growled before slamming its fists down, summoning another Sewer Tsunami. Then, he lashed its tongue out at Aerith. No one however saw the cover Materia flash in response and Harry as he taken the brunt of the attack, nor did it look he even moved. He was slashed across the face and over the chest, and everything grew incredibly slow around the teenager's vision and senses. To everyone else, Harry was moving very slow. Cloud cursed as he rushed forward with a yell, swinging upwards at the demon. It shrieked, and swung its tail at Cloud.

He quickly countered, and sliced it clean from it. Now Tifa cracked her knuckles, and came right at it with hard punches, uppercuts, and finished it off with a somersault-like drop-kick right into its skull. And Cloud dealt the finishing attack when he unleashed another round of sword assaults, stabbing the blade at the end, right through its throat and severing its spinal column. The creature collapsed with a gurgling sound, blood bubbling from its mouth and spewing from the severed arteries in its neck. There was a loud rumble behind it, and Harry regained normal movement (Aerith casted Healing Wind on them all).

"Crap, run!" Cloud shouted, and grabbed Aerith. Harry grunted, following after Tifa, as behind it, was another sewage-infested tsunami that washed over the demon completely, seemingly eroding at its skin. As if the water was swilling with corrosive acid. They continued to run, until they found a ladder. Cloud rushed forward and jumped to the rung, and held on. He held his hand out, as Aerith jumped up. He swung her up over him and she climbed out. Tifa jumped up and followed lastly by Harry before he shimmies up. Just in time. The now deafening roar of the tsunami washes the corridor. Whatever monsters may have been down there was now dead.

As Harry sat down to catch his breath, his eye caught something yellow in the discarded papers. He brushed the trash away, and saw that he was now holding a yellow-colored sphere. He decided to slip it into the last slot on his leather gauntlet.

"Well... that was... interesting," Harry said, getting up.

"We have to get going and fast," Cloud told the others.

"Let's get going now. On our way, I can hand you girls some items I got for you before our trip to Corneo's place," Harry said as the four started running down the corridor. Harry had given the two girls some better weapons, better Materia bands, and he lent his Restore to Aerith.

* * *

**Review please. Oh, and pending votes tallied at the end, yes Hermione WILL have use of Materia. C'mon... it's not Final Fantasy without the use of Materia... well... atleast for the Final Fantasy VII realm.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Harry Potter's Meteor Crisis**

**Disclaimer & Author's Note:** I do not own Harry Potter, any mentioned Harry Potter characters, and I do not own the characters of Final Fantasy VII or the series themselves. I do own whatever minor OCs that pop up as fillers, and this strange half-altered novelization plotline.

* * *

**CHAPTER FIVE**

Gunfire was heard above, sounds of battle, and several residents watching it go on. When the quintet escaped the sewers, they found themselves in the Sector 7 Graveyard, and fought their way through the few lingering ghostly spirits that refused to accept their death.

"Oh great, it's still up."

They watched the men get slain, and to their horror, Biggs and Jessie suffering from fatal wounds. Wedge high above was shot down over the railing, as he fell and landed with a hard splat behind Harry. Everyone ran up as Harry bent down.

"Wedge! Are you alright?"

"Harry? Cloud? Glad you two remembered me... Barret is up on the control plate trying to stop them from blowin' the pillar... you 'ave to go and help him......" The light that was in his eyes faded, as he took his last breath.

Tifa bowed her head, and moved her hand over his eyes to close them. She looked towards Aerith. "Aerith... I need you to go to a bar named Seventh's Heaven. There's a little girl named Marlene. Please get her to safety."

"Alright, I will." She unhooked her Fire and Restore Materia, handing it over to Tifa before she rushed off. The guard nearby sighed before walking over and unlocking the gate.

"C'mon! Hurry up! I'm going to get fired for this, but I've been here guarding the train station for years."

Tifa nodded as she slotted the Fire Materia to her Mythril Armlet she wore.

Harry stood beside her. "I'm going too! I'm part of you guys, and I'm not backing out now!"

"Alright, let's hurry," Cloud said as they stormed the stairs. Tifa remained, trying to tend to Biggs, but he soon died. She took out a guard who tried to stop her, but Harry saved her. Cloud was slashing his sword at several flying armored Shinra guards, before Harry with his Lightning Materia attached to the All slot, made them crash to the floor below.

Gunfire still echoed, growing louder as they climbed the stairs.

"Jessie!"

She looked up weakly, blood trickling from the corner of her mouth. "Hey, little brother," Jessie spoke softly, looking at Harry, then she turned to Cloud, "Cloud... I'm glad we could meet, one last time..."

"No, don't say that," Harry mumbled.

She coughed weakly. "Don't worry about me... Barret needs help. Quickly."

Harry gently pulled the young woman close to him, as anger now filled his emerald green eyes. He gently laid her back against the bottom railings as her eyes closed, then stormed the rest of the steps, swinging his sword in front of any Shinra soldier that got in his way. Cloud and Tifa chased after Harry. They hurried up that last flight of stairs and found Barret pinned down, but giving much better than he seemed to have received; indeed, he didn't appear to have been hit yet, but the fallen bodies of robots and Shinra guards both littered the walkway around them speaks different.

"Barret!" Harry called out to the burly man.

"Huh? Tifa! Cloud! Harry! Y'all came! Be careful, they're attacking from helicopters!" the leader of AVALANCHE warned.

Harry dashed over, and swung upwards, cutting a robot guard in a slanted half, while Cloud dealt with his robot that popped up from the ground, and Tifa knocked out a struggling Shinra guard.

"Quick, let's work our items here," Harry said, dashing to the group. As soon as everyone finished with what they wanted, and Barret managed to get new upgrades replacing his somewhat malfunctioning gatling gun, the helicopter Barret was shooting at flew past, and a red-haired young man had jumped out and quickly raced to the panel. Harry intercepted, but the man smiled, blocking Harry with his Electro-Rod.

Harry ducked hearing the sizzling crackle of electricity, and lunged forward with the blade in his hand. The Turk stepped aside, clocking Harry on the side of the head. Harry lay stunned for a second before getting up again, but by then, it was too late.

"That's all, folks. Mission accomplished."

"Damn!" Harry shouted, lunging at the red-haired Turk again. Again, he was blocked, but Harry this time dashed out of harm sway when the Turk tried to strike the teen with an electrical pulse that came from the Electro-Rod.

Barret growled. "Disarm it now, creep!"

Reno looked at him and shook his head no. "I don't think so. No one gets in the way of Reno and the Turks..."

Cloud and Harry gripped their swords, as Tifa tightened her fists, and Barret aimed his Assault Gun in Reno's direction. The man in question held the cane in ready combat.

"Just try and stop me," he said with a slight grin.

"Fine then," replied Harry, and he dashed forward.

Reno jumped to dodge Harry's opening attack, as he slashed his Electro-Rod in a triangle formation, and shot out a glowing light. It struck Barret, trapping him in a transparent gold pyramid. "Just try and break out of that." Barret cursed, trying to punch his way through, but it wouldn't even budge or break.

Tifa rushed him and landed several blows, before Reno countered her kick but shoving the bottom into her stomach, and sending a shock through her body. He kicked her away, and held up his weapon as Cloud tried to slash him. Harry meanwhile managed to free Barret by slashing the Pyramid before it shattered under the force.

"C'mon kid, we have to beat that guy and get him to disarm the bomb."

"Right," he replied, "quick, throw me Barret!" He held his arm out. Barret grabbed Harry, and with a swing and roar, launched Harry right at Reno. He spun in a buzzsaw-like form, and Reno just barely blocked before Harry righted himself, and ducked down with a leg sweep. He rolled to duck Tifa's stomp, kicks up, and releases an electrical bolt of energy that sent Harry crashing to the metal walkway.

Harry growled as his body gave off a glow once the numbing effects went away, and once again his body took action. He twirled his sword overhead him as a whirlwind of lavender pink light surrounded him. "Serene Blade!" He then gripped the sword tightly and slashed downward, sending the whirlwind attack crashing into Reno, who was slashed up several times.

Cloud casted an Ice spell at the young man, and Harry decided to snap forward and slashed Reno across the chest as payback for shocking him.

"It's time," Reno muttered, looking at his watch, before he made a run for it. Despite his injuries he had gave Harry the double bird when he leapt off the platform's edge.

"Shit!" Harry cursed, as Tifa ran to the controls and tried to disarm it, but to no avail.

"Cloud! I don't know how to disarm this!"

Cloud nudged her aside and took a look over, then sighed. "This isn't a normal time bomb... I don't know how to disarm it."

"But... everyone will die if that pillar blows up," Harry argued.

The roar of a helicopter alerted them, as Reno returned, on a platform attached to the side. "Hm... I rather not touch that; otherwise it'll blow straight away, if an idiot tries to mess with it. Only a Shinra Executive can arm and disarm it. Besides, even if you could, you'll have such a hard time trying to turn it off, something which you don't have."

Barret growled, aiming his gun and began firing. Reno ducked down and laughed. "I rather not do that, or else you'll hurt her." He grabbed Aerith who was tied up and shoved her forward. Barret suddenly halted his gun fire, as Tifa, Cloud, and Harry gasped.

"AERITH!"

Aerith looked up wearily. "Don't worry! She's safe!"

Reno then returned Aerith into the helicopter cockpit roughly.

Another man climbed out onto the platform. He wore the same uniform as Reno, but his hair was black and long reaching to the middle of his back tied as a puffy ponytail. "Reno, don't harm her just yet... So, you know each other? No matter then. She's safe and sound with us. "

"And who are you?" Harry asked.

"I am Tseng of the Turks. I am one of Reno's comrades. You know you should thank me, as you could see each other one last time."

"Where are you taking her?" Cloud demanded.

"She is to return with us to the Shinra Inc. building, as that was our order: Find and catch the last remaining Ancient." Tseng then smiled. "Well, it should begin right about now. Think you can escape in time?" He laughed as explosions began ripping through the concrete, causing large cracks to form and some bits to fall away. The helicopter had by then flown away and disappearing into the distance.

"Shit! We gotta get out of here!" Barret yelled against the deafening explosions.

Harry then whistled loudly, pointing at a crane that was attached to their platform they're on. Barret grinned as he ran over and grabbed it. Tifa ran over and hung on from Barret's left, Cloud on the right, and Harry climbed on his back, wrapped his legs around the man's neck and also grabbed hold.

"HOLD ON!" Barret yelled before he leapt off, and they began flying across the air. The pillars exploded as they flew, and chaos erupted below and above. Those of upper class felt the plate shudder violently, while those below were getting crushed by the falling debris. TVs went out, houses were breaking down and crushed by the debris in the slums, and screams echoed.

As they flew through the open gate, the explosion rocked them and they sprawled across the familiar park. Harry's last vision was flaming debris flying in the general direction of the Wall Market. The plate from a bird's view shudder and tipped to one side before remaining supports failed, sending the entire plate falling, crashing horribly with ensuing explosions of gas lines, giant spotlights.

The chaos faded into silence, replaced by opera music within President Shinra's office. The noise of Midgar was much louder right then from the top sectors and even reaching the office of one President Shinra. The combined lives extinguished grew so much that even the music of the angels couldn't drown them out... that is, until President Shinra turned up the volume just a little bit more. He then continued observing the chaos from atop his office in brutal satisfaction.

The noise then quieted.

For in Sector Seven...

... Well, Sector Seven no longer existed...

=0=0=

Harry stirred, as Cloud helped him up. Barret was getting off the slide he crushed, and Tifa was shaking the cobwebs in her head, standing up on her own power. When the burly man turned around, whatever Barret had to voice died, disbelief in his eyes as he slowly walked towards the entrance to Sector 7, which was now filled with burning debris, splattered blood, broken metal beams, stone concrete, ripped mesh wire, and other unmentioned debris.

Tifa and Cloud followed, and Harry was behind them, fear in his eyes. "How could they...?"

Barret then screamed out loudly as he ran to the entrance. "Marlene! MARLENE!" He was in a frightened and angry panic as he ran back and forth. "Biggs! Wedge! Jessie!" He punched the wrecked train sticking out like a sore thumb. "GODDAMNIT! Dammit!"

Tifa slowly walked up to him as Barret sobbed. Cloud and Harry were solemn, unsure what to say or do. "DAMN IT ALL TO HELL!" He screamed, "What the hell's it all for!? ARRRRGH!"

"Barret... hey Barret!" Cloud shouted.

"Barret!" Tifa and Harry called out.

They ran up to him, as he screamed in anguish again, his body shaking with emotion. He roared as he open fired into the air of the buried Sector 7 until the tears spilled again and he stopped, falling to his knees and smashing his fist into the dirt.

"God... damn it..." He punched the ground again.

=0=0=

Harry fingered a yellow Materia stone, which the information that zoomed into his mind was called a Sense Materia: able to scan any enemy and discover its hidden attributes and health status. Harry didn't pay much attention to the conversation occurring, as he was deep in thought. Sure, he knew that Shinra had dealt in some rather questionable affairs that he manages to stumble upon... but... he just never knew that they would willingly end the lives of hundreds just to get at a tiny group of whom they dubbed "terrorists". His train of morbid thoughts on the victims who lost their lives in this tragedy was broken by Tifa who came to him, and hugged him.

Tifa held him close. "The Shinra must be stopped," Harry spoke up. Barret nodded.

"They will. Now, we have to catch up with Cloud. He's heading towards Sector 5."

"Why there?"

Tifa let go as she helped him up. "Aerith may have brought Marlene to her house, before she got captured. C'mon, we have to catch up."

He nodded as the three took one last look at Sector 7. Harry clenched his fist tightly, as he vowed to himself to stop Shinra in anyway possible. They then left the playground area.

"YO! CLOUD! Hold you spiky-headed ass up!" Barret yelled, as they managed to climb the rough terrain, catching up with the broadsword user, who was currently surrounded by the lice like creatures.

"Fire!" Harry casted the spell, now used to the magic of Materia, as he unleashed blasts of flame. The monsters squealed in pain before disintegrating.

"Yo, Cloud. Take me to Marlene!" Barret exclaimed.

"Are you going to help Aerith?" Tifa asked.

Cloud nodded. "Yeah..."

_In my veins courses the blood of the Ancients. I am one of the rightful heirs to this planet!_

Harry meanwhile was caught in the leg by another monster; which was the tongue of the same demon house, he was unaware of the minor breakdown Cloud had but Tifa and Barret. He grabbed his sword and sliced it, causing it to roll its bleeding appendage back, before he climbed over. With a spare Grenade Barret had on him, he threw it into one of the windows. The three looked back in shock when the explosion occurred (Cloud snapping out of his minor episode), and Harry walked over.

"Demon House tried to devour me... blew it and the dog house up."

Cloud shook his head as he got back up. "Let's go, the entrance is just ahead."

"But Cloud... you sure you're okay?"

"Yeah... yeah I am, Tifa," he said. She wasn't sure, but accepted his word.

They resumed their trip, fought against minor bandits who ganged up on them, before slipping into the nearby town slum. Harry led them down the same track he and Cloud followed Aerith, and in Barret and Tifa's eyes, led them into a beautiful garden full of flowers.

"Wow..."

"Yup. They say you can't grow flowers... yet... there's an old church that has a flower bed, and when Cloud and I arrived here with Aerith before all that... business earlier, we saw this garden of flowers."

"This is beautiful," Barret said in a serene voice, "nature is wonderful..."

Harry agreed, as he walked towards the house, and gently knocked on the door before opening the door.

"Miss Gainsborough?"

Inside, Elmyra was in a chair facing the wall.

"Cloud, and Harry, was it? ... They took Aerith away."

Cloud frowned. "We know... we encountered the Shinra earlier before we escaped Sector 7..."

"Why are the Shinra after Aerith?"

Elmyra looked away. "Aerith is an Ancient. The sole survivor..."

"Wait, what?" Harry asked again, "But aren't you her mother?"

Elmyra shook her head sadly. "Not her real mother... Oh, it must have been fifteen years ago during the war. My husband was sent to the front. Some far away place called Wutai." She paused as she reminisced.

//FLASHBACK//

_"One day, I went to the station because I got a letter saying he was coming home on leave."_

A younger-looking Elmyra was standing before the train as it pulled to a stop at the Sector 7 train station. The whistle blew as the doors opened, and Elmyra watched several people climb off and greet loved ones. After a short while, the doors closed, and Elmyra runs to the conductor who shakes his head at her spoken question of her husband's whereabouts. Head bowed, Elmyra began the long trek home.

_"My husband never came back. I wonder if something happened to him... I was sure his leave was just canceled. I went to the station everyday. Then, one day..."_

Elmyra returned to the station. There was a woman laying on the steps to the platform, a young girl running around her crying. There were a few people there wondering what was happening, as Elmyra runs over and kneels by the woman. The little girl runs to her and hugs her tight.

_"You used to see this sort of thing a lot during the war. Her last words were, Please take Aerith somewhere safe. My husband never came back... I had no child. I was probably lonely, so I decided to take her home with me. That woman I knew died as I held Aerith in my embrace walking away."_

//END FLASHBACK//

"Aerith and I became close very quickly. That child loved to talk." She smiled briefly, "she used to talk to me about everything. She told me she escaped some sort of research laboratory somewhere. And that her mother had already returned to the planet, and many other things."

"Returned to the planet?" Barret repeated, confused.

"I didn't know what she meant," Elmyra admitted, "I asked if she meant a star in the sky...But she said it was this planet... She was a mysterious child in many ways."

//FLASHBACK//

_"One day, she came up to me and said, Please don't cry, Mom, right out of the blue. She just blurted it out all of a sudden. I asked her if something happened... and she said someone dear to me has just died, that sis spirit was coming to see me, but he already returned to the planet. At the time, I didn't believe her at first. But... several days later... we received a notice saying my husband had died."_

Elmyra was racked with sobs, as Aerith tried comforting her. On the table were an opened envelope and an opened letter. When Aerith came down to comfort her, Elmyra however swept Aerith into her arms and continued to cry. Aerith hugged her.

//END FLASHBACK//

She sighed. "And that's how it was. A lot had happened, and at that time I was sad but we were very happy and she helped me grieve over the passing of my husband. Until one day..."

"Shinra..." Cloud said.

Elmyra nodded. "It was a man named Tseng."

//FLASHBACK//

A twelve year old Aerith looked up from beside Elmyra, as a younger Tseng, and two Shinra guards unarmed stood by him.

"We've been looking for Aerith for a long time. You are a very gifted child..."

"No I'm not," Aerith shook her head, not wanting to believe him. Tseng continued, undeterred.

"Aerith believe me you are a very special child. You are of special blood. Your real mother was an Ancient."

_"That's when you found out,"_ Harry said. It wasn't a spoken question; it was straight to the point. Elmyra nodded.

"The Ancients will lead us to a land of supreme happiness. Aerith will be able to bring happiness to all those in the slums. That's why... Shinra would like Aerith's cooperation."

"He's wrong," Aerith protested, "I'm not an Ancient! I'm not!"

"But Aerith, surely you hear voices sometimes when you're all alone?" Tseng asked.

But Aerith shook her head in denial. "No, I don't!" She ran out the door through the three men, and disappeared beyond the flower garden growing in the back yards.

//END FLASHBACK//

"But I knew. I knew about her mysterious powers... She tried so hard to hide it, so I acted as though I never noticed."

"It's amazing how she's avoided the Shinra for all these years..."

"The Shinra needed her. I reckon they didn't want to harm her."

"But why now... why didn't they catch her until now?" Tifa asked.

"Aerith brought a little girl here with her," Elmyra explained, "On the way here Tseng had found them."

"Marlene!" Barret yelled in surprise, "Aerith was caught because of Marlene?" He bowed to Elmyra, which was surprisingly formal despite his gait, "I'm sorry. Marlene is... she is my daughter. I'm really sorry."

"You're her father?" Elmyra gasped, reminding Harry of Mrs. Weasley, "How in the world could you ever leave a child alone like that!?"

"Please don't start with that. I think about it all the time," Barret replied, standing up, "What would happen to Marlene, if I..."

He shook his head, "But you gotta understand somethin'... I don't have an answer. I wanna be Marlene but I gotta fight. Cause if I don't... the planet's gonna die. So, I'm gonna keep fightin'! But, I'm worry about Marlene. I really just wanna be with her... always. See? I'm goin' in circles, now."

Elmyra nodded. "I understand what you're saying. She's upstairs asleep. Why don't you go and see her?" Barret nodded and practically flew up the stairs.

Tifa looked down at the floor. "It's my fault. I was the one who got Aerith involved in this..."

"Don't say that," Elmyra chided her, "Aerith doesn't think that."

Harry watched as Cloud went up the stairs to check up on Barret.

"We're going after Aerith," Harry said to Tifa and a now surprised Elmyra, "she... she's just too innocent to be used by Shinra in whatever plot they devise." Cloud came back downstairs, and heard the last sentence Harry spoke.

"If we're going right into Shinra headquarters you gotta be prepared for the worst," Cloud warned.

"I know," Tifa nodded, "Right now, I feel like I have to push myself to the limit... if I stayed here... I'd go crazy."

The pounding of boots on stairs alerted them all to Barret's return. He turned to Elmyra. "Sorry, but can you take care of Marlene a bit longer?"

Elmyra nodded. "Yes, I don't mind."

"This place is dangerous now. You better go somewhere else," Barret warned.

"... You're right. But promise me that you'll come back to her. Don't get yourself killed."

"I don't intend to," the bear of a man replied before turning to Harry, Cloud, and Tifa, "If you're going to rescue Aerith from the Shinra, I'm gonna come wit' you all."

"Then let's go and kick some Shinra ass," Harry concluded.

=0=0=

"So, how do we get to Shinra's HQ? Because there's no trains that lead directly to the main building," said Harry as the quartet left the home of Elmyra, "and if we try and sneak up onto the upper plates through other ways..." he grimaced, "I have no doubt people will be a bit paranoid and report anything suspicious."

"Well, let's just go to Wall Market. We might be able to find something there," Tifa said.

"Sector 6? Hm... Let's get going, guys."

The group soon left the neighborhood, and backtracked towards the main gates of Sector 7, fighting off lingering pests that would attempt to get in their way. They fought down the feelings they felt when they once again laid eyes upon the destruction of Sector 7, heading right into Sector 6.

"Okay... let's split up from here, and we'll meet in the center of Wall Market, alright?"

"Good plan, Harry," Barret agreed.

Cloud and Tifa both nod, as the four split up. Cloud went into one of the bars, Barret wandered off to the right of him, and Tifa joined him before separating to ask a couple of people at some junk shop. For Harry, he wondered off until he decided to go into the Weapons and Junk shop.

"Hm... excuse me?" Harry called out to the man behind the wire fence counter.

The guy looked over. "He's asleep," said the other man working on something. Harry wandered over.

"Say, have you heard about all that commotion that happened?"

"Yeah... not hard to miss explosions and stuff," he replied.

"With what had happened in Sector 7, a lot of stuff flew over. There were some injurie,s but we can take car of one another. Hell, I got some good junk that I can repair, including three batteries. There was also a bit of debris that littered the Golden Wall off from here. It looks climbable but it's really risky."

"Golden Wall?"

"Yeah," said the man, turning around after finishing the third yellow-colored battery, "hell, for now, if anyone was to climb it, you'd be able to reach the higher plate. Sure, there's been some junk lying around because of ill service, or Shinra used this area as dumping grounds. I doubt it'd last however with the extra crap from those explosions in Sector 7."

"Hm... I see..."

The man chuckled. "You look like you're looking for a way to the top. Can't blame you, though. The only other rail service for the slums is at the other side of the city. So... ya know what, I'll make a deal: Pay me 300 Gil and you can have these three batteries. You never know if they'll come in handy."

Harry pondered over it for a bit, before nodding his head, fishing out his wallet and whipping out three one hundred bills, and handed it to the guy. The guy smiled, and fished the three batteries before storing them into a draw-string burlap bag, and handed I to Harry through the small opening in the fencing.

"Do be careful though, kid. I'm sure the neighborhood kids are at the top of the wall now that it's climbable with the debris."

"Sure thing," said Harry, and he left the store. The man chuckled softly to himself.

Harry wandered off, keeping the bag secured around him opposite of the strap securing Gryffindor Sword. He reunited with the others, and told them about a giant wall that was climbable to the higher plate. Everyone went to this giant wall (why was it called a Golden Wall when it wasn't gold, and graffiti all over?), where a bunch of kids were at on the top looking out to the scenery.

"You sure that this is climbable?"

"It has to be... the guy at the store said that with the debris that showered from the Sector 7 collapse, it seemed to have made a makeshift ladder that led to the top. Though, he also said that it may not last that long... I'm inclined to believe him," Harry said as he gazed up to what awaited them.

"... We have to go. This is the only way to save Aerith," Tifa told the three guys.

"You up for it, Cloud?"

"I don't know..."

"Look... I know that there are some doubts, but this looks like the only way out of this place."

"Yeah, mister," said the boy who was listening in on them, "it's kinda scary up there, but this leads to the Upper World."

"C'mon, Cloud. We jus' gotta do this thing!" Barret told the blonde swordsman.

"Let's go," said Harry, and he started the climb up the wire. Cloud, Tifa and Barret all followed after Harry, as they climbed higher and higher, soon passing the large wall.

The mishmash of debris was dangerous, and one mistake meant a freefall to your death. But, there was some word from the shopkeeper down below that was true: the batteries would come in handy, as one moved a propeller into a position allowing them to cross, and then a train guard sturdy enough to support them up to the hanging thick wires above.

"Shit!" Harry swore as he was now swinging off a cable. He jumped and landed perfectly on the other end, "This is insanity!"

"Yeah, but we have to keep going," Cloud said after getting pass the gap, then Tifa, then Barret.

They kept climbing higher, as the view of the destroyed Sector 7 gave them the fuel to keep going. Soon, they managed to get onto solid ground high above the slums, and checked their weapons while hiding from the guards patrolling the area, and a helicopter was seen flying high overhead. Nodding to one another, they sprinted past the guards when they weren't looking.

"What was that noise?" the first guard asked, tightening the gun hold.

"Ahh you're full of it. No one up here but us guards. Hardly any of the upper citizens would try and come around here, not without business," said the second guard to the first.

"Yeah, you're right," the first guard conceded.

Harry suddenly pulled back into an alley, and the three followed, as a spotlight flew by. Harry sighed in relief, before telling his friends to follow him. He had fortunately been to this area of the city before he had to go underground to the slums. They soon arrived to the steps leading to the large metallic building.

"Hey, you oughta know this building well," Barret said to Cloud, who faced him.

"... Not really, now that I think about it."

"What do you mean, not really?" Harry asked before Barret would snap.

"What I mean is this is my first to ever been to Shinra HQ," Cloud explained, "what about you Harry?"

"When I first came to Midgar, I got here through another group of traveling families wanting to find better living from Junon. I have seen this building a few times but that was from other places on the higher plate."

Tifa then cut in. "Hey, what should we do?"

"How 'bout we go blasting' in guns blazing!"

"WAIT A SECOND! You're not thinking of just going right through the main entrance, are you!?"

"I agree with Tifa. It would sound suicidal," Harry piped in, "in a situation like this, I believe finding a back way and sneaking in is the best choice we have."

Barret growled, but then nodded. "Fine then."

The four then ran off to the back alley, and Cloud slashed open a chain and lock off a door they found a few minutes later, and walked in, Harry closing the door behind him.

"Damn! We have to climb all these stairs?"

"Well, we've got to help Aerith somehow," Tifa said to Barret.

"Damn..."

"C'mon, stop sissying around," Harry said as he started running up the stairs. Tifa followed and Barret snapped at Harry with a crude remark, Cloud following behind.


	6. Chapter 6

**Harry Potter's Meteor Crisis**

**Disclaimer & Author's Note:** I do not own Harry Potter, any mentioned Harry Potter characters, and I do not own the characters of Final Fantasy VII or the series themselves. I do own whatever minor OCs that pop up as fillers, and this strange half-altered novelization plotline.

* * *

**CHAPTER SIX**

"Finally... we made it," Harry huffed, forty minutes later of a continued run up a very long flight of steps, "damn I am exhausted."

Barret agreed. "N... never wanna see... no more stairs the rest of my life..." As Barret was catching air, Cloud walked up to Harry, somewhat winded himself. After a five minute rest, they were ready to continue.

"You guys ready? We don't know what's beyond this door," He whispered, as he slowly opened it and peered through the crack.

Barret and Tifa crowded around the two guys.

"Damn... they're robots," Harry muttered. The three soldiers guarding the elevators looked human, however their eyes glowed a sinister red, plus their elite guard costumes had more bulky parts. And for hands, were gun barrels.

"Let's do it," muttered Cloud. The four burst out from the stairwell. The three guards turned their sights upon the group and countered their attacks. A long brawl ensued, however, in the end, the robots were dismantled, and one of them had expelled a Keycard which Harry picked up after Tifa healed some of their wounds they sustained form the brawl.

"Take it. It could have some uses for us," Tifa summarized, as Harry ran up to them, and the four crowded the elevator, and went to Floor 60.

"Remember guys, this is the real deal. Do not let your guard down,' Cloud told the others.

=0=0=

There was a guard in one of the control rooms, who after a bit tilted his head down, and a soft snore is heard. If he was awake, he'd have noticed the camera angle on one screen focus on the commotion; a group of four leaving the elevator on floor sixty, and running off screen.

There were guards who were walking towards them, as they disappeared into one of the open hallways, and soon took guard in an open spot in-between two statues of President Shinra.

"We'll have to sneak past... don't want security breathing down our necks," Harry mused, as he peered through the door window, "there's a staircase ahead, we can use it and try and avoid the elevators unless necessary."

"Good plan Harry. Cloud you go first, signal when we can cross." Cloud nodded, and when they weren't looking sprinted quietly behind a television screen. He made it half-way, before he signaled Harry over, then Barret, then Tifa. They got through safely seven minutes later, and were climbing the stairs.

"We're gonna rock!" Barret yelled, before Harry shushed him.

"Remember, we're here to rescue Aerith from Shinra," Harry told them.

They reached to Floor 61, where Harry decided to leave his sword behind with Tifa, and said he'll go look around. "Be careful Harry," Tifa whispered as the three hid in the shadow crevice of the stairs heading to Floor 62. He went through the door and calmly walked around, before he saw a red-headed woman.

"Hello you. I don't remember seeing your face before... you new here?" She giggled, and Harry blinked fighting a blush, "say, you're cute. Let me teach you some... things."

"Uh..."

"Oh, it's nothing like that," she started to laugh, and Harry calmed down, though she giggled a bit since he was blushing a bit, "The higher ups in the company use keycards for the floors above the 60th. But you cannot get there without a keycard. You see, get a keycard and you can use the elevators freely."

"Oh, I see now."

"Just remember there are different keycards. One keycard alone won't let you go everywhere. Example: Keycard 60 only goes to the 60th floor. Keycard 65 goes to the 65th floor. It's a security system worthy of Shinra. After all, all the power in Midgar and the world, of that matter, is controlled by them."

"I understand," he said.

She smiled. "You're welcome young man. I have to get back to work now, though I wouldn't mind getting to know you more on my next break. Take care." She winked at him as she trailed a finger along his crotch making him shiver a bit before heading off to do what her job entitled her.

Harry shook his head and took control of his hormones, exploring the floor to see if he could get a higher keycard ranking. He found out the floor he was on was the lounge for the employees. One guy caught him and asked who he was, and Harry said that he was a custodial worker. The guy assumed he was from the Shinra INC. Repair Division. He was given a Keycard for floor 62, and told he should take a look at the door that was jammed open. Harry nodded as the man walked away from him, and he went back to the staircase unseen.

"Hey, let's head to the 62nd floor," Harry said, flashing Keycard 62.

"Good job Harry," Barret said, as he went up the stairs. Harry grinned and followed him, Cloud, and Tifa, who handed him his weapon back.

On the 62nd floor, they went through the doors into empty hallways. There, they met the mayor of Midgar who introduced himself as Domino; who was just there in name only. They received a Keycard from him, and an Elemental Materia after Harry deduced the right answer on the first try (the man despite what everybody else said, said he was the BEST). All he asked in return was to make the Shinra upstairs really suffer, something which Barret readily agreed to. On Floor 63, Harry decided to grab all three coupons once using the elevator and finding out they had access to floors 60 to 65 so far, and they were exchanged for a Star Pendant, All Materia, and Four Slots accessory.

Harry gave his Carbon Bangle to Tifa who slipped it around her right ankle, him replacing his missing bangle on his arm with the Four Slots (which rested around the wrist like a wide bracelet) and moving his Cover Materia over onto it. He shifted his Materia around a bit afterward, handing Tifa his All Materia, so she could link it with the Restore. Barret was given the Sense Materia, and Cloud decided to link the earlier acquired Elemental Materia to his Carbon Bangle with Lightning Materia. As for the Star Pendant, Harry wore the ornamental item, and hid the small charm under his shirt next to the necklace that Harry always wore.

They climbed the stairs, and luckily found the door unlocked and no need for a Keycard. It was some sort of exercise room. However they quickly decided it wasn't worth an investigation; not incase there was any off-duty Shinra soldiers. Floor 65. Harry went up ahead to 66, but the door was locked so he went back down. They went through the door in the middle of the room, and the lights turned on, revealing the entire city of Midgar.

"So, this is all of Midgar then?" Harry asked.

"Yup. The upper plates that is. The slums underneath the Shinra don' give a shit," Barret said.

"Looks like parts of Midgar are missing... whatcha think?"

"Hm... should we complete it?"

"The floor above is locked... and there's a treasure box in the stairwell that's locked... maybe this has something to do with it? Like a puzzle to complete for a prize."

"Alright, split up and find these parts of the model."

Barret, Tifa, Cloud, and Harry had split up leaving the room, going into various rooms and managing to find parts for the model. However, Harry was attacked as soon as he left the room he entered.

"FUCK!" He cursed. Cloud, Tifa, and Barret ran to aid Harry as the sound of magic was heard and the blast of lightning. Tifa's gloves tightened as she rushed forward and punched one of the eel-like mechanical beasts in the side, before getting slapped away. Barret unleashed several bullet shots, damaging one then Cloud sliced one horizontally.

One snuck up on Harry but he ducked out of the way and slashed whilst casting another Bolt spell. It blew up into scrap and dropping a Potion and Gil. He collected them and drank up the Potion, feeling his injuries heal up.

The other two eel bots were taken care of by Barret's Big Shot Limit Break and a combo attack from Tifa's Lightning Materia and Cloud slicing his blade.

"Shit, you alright kid?"

"Yeah. I'm fine Barret. We should be careful since there's enemies up around here."

"That's why it's deserted then... dangerous security droids. Let's get going."

Once they had placed everything in place, Sector 7 was missing a part. However there was an echoing click. New information they read was it were plans for a Neo-Midgar, and how the Ancient would lead them to the Promised Land.

"Sounds like something opened up..."

"So that's why they kidnapped Aerith... let's get going."

They found a Keycard for the next floor level. But on trying the card it didn't work. It was elevator-based.

=0=0=

Upon arriving, they saw the doors to an office just close. "Who was that?"

Shrugging, Harry snuck closer and pressed his ear against the door, hearing a horse-like laugh. "Heidegger, shut up with that horse laugh." The laugh slowly, but surely stopped, before he heard a snorting-like grunt.

He started sprinting when he heard someone coming around the corner. The other three AVALANCHE members followed, disappearing right into the men's restrooms. Reeve blinked, thinking he heard someone, but shrugged before going towards the main doors and entering the board room.

"What was it?"

"It was President Shinra I heard in that room."

"WHAT? Damn..."

Harry looked up at the ceiling, and pushed the door open, seeing a ventilation duct. He opened it up and climbed right in, telling the others to lock the doors or something, and wait for him. He climbed through staying as quiet as he could, until he reached a vent that overlooked a board room.

"Wow... a lot of businessmen down there," Harry whispered to himself. He remained quiet as he started listening in.

"... We have the damage estimations for Sector 7," Reeve spoke up, "Considering factories we've had already set up and all the investments, the damage are estimated at approximately 10 billion Gil. Now, the estimated cost to rebuild Sector 7 is-"

"We're not rebuilding," President Shinra cut in, "We are leaving that sector as it is." Reeve couldn't believe what he was hearing, as he slowly sat down to prevent embarrassing himself, "Instead, we're restarting the Neo-Midgar plan."

"... So the Ancients?"

A nod. "The Promised Land will soon be ours. Also, increase Mako rate in every area by 15%."

Harry nearly jumped when a guy in a business suit began hopping in his chair. He was a balding man with a row of gray hair in a half ring around the back of his head. He appeared to be fat like Heidegger, but was a bit slimmer in the weight division. The suit he wore was a brown to olive brown.

"RATE HIKE! RATE HIKE! Tralalalalala! Please, PLEASE include our Space Program in the budget!"

Shinra was disgruntled. "Reeve and Scarlet will divide the extra income from the rate increase, Palmer," he told the man, who had shut his mouth and reclaimed his seat.

"But, sir, if you increase the rates the people will lose confidence in Shinra INC," Reeve argued.

"Nonsense, those ignorant fools won't lose their confidence, but simply trust us even more." President Shinra smiled, as Heidegger did his horse laugh.

"After all, we ARE the ones who saved Sector 7 from AVALANCHE!" This statement caused Harry to nearly snarl.

_Fucking assholes,_ he thought, before he blinked as the door open and shut. A guy in a white lab coat, white undershirt and black tie, with black slacks, and shoes walked in, hands behind his back and with a shuffle-like walk. The guy's nose was crooked, and the hair looked a bit greasy, tied as a ponytail with three long needle-like fringes overshadowing his left eye. The guy also wore glasses, but he couldn't tell the eye color.

"Ah, Professor Hojo," Shinra greeted the new arrival, "How is the girl?"

The man now named Hojo turned to face Shinra. "As a specimen, she is inferior to her mother. I'm still in the process of comparing her to her mother, Ifalna, but for now the difference is 18%."

"How long shall the research take?"

He then slowly peered to the roof. "It shall take up to one hundred and twenty years. Impossible to complete in our lifetime or in the case of the specimen's for that matter. That is why..." he walked towards the door, as the light eerily reflected off his glasses, "we're thinking of breeding her. Then, we can create one that could withstand our research for a long time."

"What of the Promised Land? Will it interfere?"

Hojo then brought a hand to his chin, seemingly thinking up an answer, before he responded to the question. "That's what I need to plan. The mother is strong... and yet has her weaknesses." He then let loose a sinister chuckle.

"This concludes our meeting."

The President left the seat and walked away, the door opening as the board as the five men and one lady were leaving. However the woman in the scarlet dress and blonde hair stopped, and looked up to the vent, where Harry hid back in the shadows.

"Something smells like shit..."

She then walked away, scrunching up her nose. Harry muttered the word bitch, before slowly crawling back the other way. His feet dangled before he dropped to the toilet, avoiding jamming his foot into the toilet water.

He hopped onto the floor, as the three crowded him. "Yo, what's up?"

"Not good," Harry said, before he began telling everything he had heard in the meeting. They left the restroom (after Harry first took care of his business), and ran down the hallway, seeing the man Harry described turn the corner. They peered over that corner, as the man entered the stairwell.

"Hojo..."

Cloud followed after once the door closed, and the three followed him.

=0=0=

Hermione closed the door to her temporarily bedroom at Cosmo Canyon. She had done her fair share helping around in the kitchens, but no all he wanted to do was take a break, and read this little red book on the bed counter.

"Harry," she sighed, as she fished under her shirt a charm necklace. It was something Harry gave to her when they were younger. And from her wallet she still had with her form her ocean travels, she looked at a photo she took out. Her and Harry, age eleven, heading to the school Hogwarts hidden by the mountains and the jungles... She missed his comforting embrace.

She grabbed the book, but didn't open it.

"Harry..."

=0=0=

"Harry, are you okay?" Tifa asks, concern in her eyes as Harry appeared to be staring off into the distance.

"Huh?"

He looked around, and then remembered where he was. "Oh, yes I'm fine... it's just... I felt like someone was... wishing for me."

"Now I remember him," Barret said, as they climbed the stairs. Luckily the door remained open – or did it get stuck like the door on floor 60 – as Harry looked at the man.

"That Hojo guy, he's in charge of the Shinra's Science Department. Yo Cloud, you know him?"

"Nope, first I ever saw him... or even knew what he looked like."

They converged, weapons drawn as the traveled down the hallway. They encountered a guard, but Harry's quick thinking of throwing Tifa's old Titan Bangle at the soldier's head knocked him out. Tifa had run in to catch the unconscious man before his body thump would alert security.

"Nice thinking."

Harry again robbed this soldier of his Gil, which was only 123 Gil. They went into the next room, but quickly hid in the darkness next to a dome-shaped tank as a man in a gray suit walked in.

"Is this today's specimen?" He questioned to an animal within the clear tank Hojo was staring at. Said animal was orange furred, more of a reddish orange, with scars, and an X-shaped scar on his right eye. He wore a hairpin-like headdress and a long mane row of red hair lining its back, and his tail, the tip of it, was on fire. The animal was glaring at Hojo as it remained sitting, stylistic gold bands on its fore ankles.

"Yes, so raise this to the next level." Hojo watched it as the other guy left. Cooing over it like a madman, he soon left, as the four ducked further into the shadows of the poorly lit room. Once his shuffling faded, they retreated into the light, as Tifa and Harry went up to the glass cage.

"Precious specimen?"

The animal was staring at Tifa intently, but not unlike the dark glare it gave Hojo.

"You don't think he's going to use it for a biological experiment?"

Harry wandered to Tifa, as he gazed upon the animal trapped inside.

"But why?"

Cloud turned around, and then noticed some writing on a strip of iron plate on the dome tank. His heart rate sped up as he walked close to it, a soft violet glow coming from within.

"Jenova..." He walked closer, and gazed inside. But what he saw was something from a nightmare. Cloud backed away from the dome, shaking his head as a buzzing sound filled his ears. Cloud closed his eyes tightly, clutching his head covering his ears trying to block out the white noise. He then fell to the ground. He was unaware he was screaming out, as his voice caused the three members to finally notice their friend in pain. Tifa ran straight to him as he fell back, but she caught him.

"Jenova... Sephiroth's..."

"What? What's wrong, Cloud?" Harry asked.

"So... they brought it here..."

"Cloud! Be Strong!"

The animal in the glass cage watched this occur, his tail sweeping gently.

"Did... did you see it?" He pointed at the dome's window.

"See what?" Barret questioned, before going to examine it. He then saw what Cloud saw, and more as it made a sudden movement, making him and Harry who was behind him back away surprised.

"Holy fuckin' hell," Barret swore.

Harry shivered. "It's missing a head... how could it be alive?"

"Ugh, this whole thing's stupid. Let's keep goin'."

Harry helped Cloud up.

"I'll be fine... I... ugh." He shook his head, "But Barret's right."

They went into the back, seeing as the door was temporarily closed and locked. Arriving in the back, they encountered what looked like a game board. The image on the screen showed a warning in kanji that read "STOP", with a flashing hand sign signaling a halting motion.

"**WARNING! TURN AWAY NOW!"**

Barret went to punch it away, but the head board snapped back whacking him in the head. Suddenly the floor below it opened, and a machine gun was erected.

"DUCK AND COVER!" Harry yelled, as the four moved away from the oncoming bullets.

"Shit!" Barret swore.

"Hold on... I may have something here..." He searched his pocket, before he grinned; pulling out a Spider Web item they collected during the trek back to Sector 7.

"Got this!" He exclaimed throwing the silk-wrapped ball. It exploded into a sticky mass of silk, clogging up the gun's movement. Cloud dashed in and slashed the gun, causing it to explode. Barret then open fired until the head board snapped and blew up into Gil pieces. Harry saw a hidden box, which contained a Poison Materia.

"Alright, it was blockin' an elevator. Let's get."

=0=0=

"Aerith!"

Hojo was startled for a brief moment before resuming his calm pose, the four rushing the back elevator from the floor below.

"That is her name, Aerith? Pretty name... what do you want?"

"We're taking Aerith back!" Cloud yelled at the evil scientist.

"Huh, outsiders..."

Barret growled. "And yeh shoulda noticed it earlier."

He gave them a sneer. "There are so many frivolous things in this world, you know?"

Barret rushed close to the glowing glass dome Aerith was trapped within, while Harry and Cloud rushed him, swords ready.

He frowned. "What? Going to kill me?" He took of his glasses, and wipes the dust off them using his coat, before pushing them back on, "I doubt you should do that. After all, the equipment here is delicate... without me, who could operate it, hm?"

Barret slowly lowered his gun-arm, and growled. Harry and Cloud lowered their blades, but not strap them away.

He chuckled. "I recommend you think things out logically before making rash moves. BRING THE SPECIMEN IN!" The woman on the walkway ran into the control room, locking the door as she operates the controls.

Aerith was slowly waking up, as the door before her opened, and a lift brought up the animal the foursome saw earlier the floor below. The animal began to growl, as Aerith started running. She started banging on the door, realizing what was happening to her, and also seeing her friends.

"CLOUD! HARRY! HELP ME!"

"HOJO! What are you fucking doing?" Harry yelled at him, tightening his grip on his sword.

He chuckled when Harry tried to shatter the glass, but failed to do so. The four stared at the man, who had a sick grin displayed.

"I'm just helping both species from the brink of extinction," he calmly explained, as if it was the most obvious thing known.

"Aerith is a human being!" Tifa yelled. Hojo ignored her however.

"And why should I care? It's science, my dear."

Barret growled before he began open fire on the container, as Harry resumed to hack away. A sudden crack echoed, causing everything to glow bright inside the containment field. Hojo panicked and rushed up to the door shoving Harry out of his way.

"NO! My specimens!" He grabbed the keycard and unlocked the door as the light faded, only to get tackled down and ravaged by the animal. Cloud saw this chance to run in, and grab Aerith and take her out.

Suddenly the lift began to work, lowering first, and then slowly something was coming up. "Cloud? Someone's coming up that lift..."

The animal let go as Hojo backed away, hurt. "It's not any specimen, it's a ferocious specimen!" he shouted at them with a growl.

The animal turned to face them. "He's rather strong. I'll help you out."

The four gawked at it, surprised it could speak.

"What... you can talk?"

"Yes... I am Red XIII, as it was the name this man behind me gave me. It however has no meaning for me. Call me whatever you wish."

"... Uh, okay, explanations later, monster killing first," Harry spoke.

"I'll take Aerith away," Tifa said, before leading the woman away, as the glass dome soon blew out when the monster appeared.

The three men and lupine wolf or cat backed as the creature lumbers up, slime dripping.

Hojo cackled.

"Behold! My HO512!"

The monster in question was severely ugly, a sin in nature. Miss-matched body parts and heads fused into one was the given description, with a humanoid figure and walking stance. Along with it were three bouncing yellow sponge-like monsters with a single beady red eye for faces. It had four triangular fangs on the bottom, acting as feet. The smaller creatures were letting out chirp-like screeches and calls (like a Metroid from Metroid Prime).

Cloud's magic flared before he casted Thunder on the monster in the back. Harry was struck down by one of the Samples via Rolling Attack. He glowed in response before twirling his sword overhead him, as a lavender whirlwind formed. "Serene Blade!" he called out, slashing the air before him and thus sending it rampaging the enemies. The Samples blew up, but the monster only belched out three more.

The monster struck out at Cloud, sending him crashing into Barret. Red XIII howled as it casted a Fire spell, burning all four of the demonic sins. "Blade Beam!" Cloud yelled, slamming the Buster Sword into the ground, and sending a large vertical greenish energy slash. It crashed into HO512, and split into smaller waves striking and killing the three Samples. Again, they were rebirthed.

The demonic monster shrieked angrily before it casted a poison attack on Harry, who was caught in the gassy blast but the Star Pendant protected him. Cloud yelled as he ran and slashed the monster hard, before jumping and countering the blow he blocked. He jumped back as bullets rained upon the monster's right torso area and bulbous shoulder-like head.

Harry ran forward and swung. The monster screamed real high-pitched as steam rose from the slashed appendages that was once its tentacles. Grinning, he leap back before throwing the blade in the second but smaller head, ran forward, and dragged it right down. It burst into gore and mutilated body parts. Off one part, a Materia stone dropped to the floor, and rolled to Cloud's feet. The three Samples blew up when the master perished.

"Shit," Harry cursed, wiping the blood off him. Cloud strapped the sword to his back and picked up the Enemy Skill, as Red XIII turned his attention back to Hojo... only to find he had escaped.

"Aerith, are you alright?"

"Yes, I am."

"She's okay in many ways," Tifa said, dragging a rag out and wiping the blood from Harry's face and glasses with a towellete she carried in one of her pockets.

Aerith turned her attention to Red XIII, "So, you can talk then?"

"I have the right to choose, too. I don't like two-legged things."

Harry arched an eyebrow. "I see..."

Red XIII turned to face Harry, who felt oddly intimidated. "It was an honest response."

"So, what are ya?" Barret asked.

"An informed question, but difficult to answer. I am what you see. But, I am sure you have many questions; first however we should leave this laboratory. I'll lead the way."

The team had split into two groups after doing a quick round of exchange: Cloud, Harry, and Aerith with Harry's Ice and Fire Materia he gave her to attach to her Striking Staff Harry had found in one of the rooms lying around discarded by a female Shinra soldier.

"We'll go first. 66th Floor." Red XIII left, with Barret and Tifa following.

"We'll use the elevator," Cloud said, as he, Aerith, and Harry left the room.

However, as they had split up, when Cloud's group entered the elevator, two guns were pointed at them from behind, hammers cocked. "Get in," The Turk member spoke in a cool yet cold voice. Same uniform, but he was bald and wearing black sunglasses.

Harry's choice of words: "Fuck."

=0=0=

The scene soon switched to the entire team handcuffed, Red's paws chained with a four-way lock, being led up the stairs and soon told to go before the President, as the man named Rude, and his partner Tseng watched.

However, Aerith was missing. "Caught... where's Aerith?"

"She is safe," was the marked reply by the President, "she is after all, the last surviving Ancient."

"What does that mean?" Harry questioned which got him a glance.

"Don't you know, boy? They call themselves the Cetra, and lived thousands of years ago. Now, they're but a forgotten page in history..."

"That girl... is she a survivor of the Cetra?" Red XIII asked.

"Cetra, or the Ancients, will show us the way to the Promised Land. I'm expecting a lot from her..."

Red XIII spoke again. "But, is it just a legend?"

"Even so, it's just too appealing to not to pursue. It's been said the Promised Land is very fertile. And as you know... a rich fertile land will have an abundant amount of Mako energy. The abundant Mako energy will come out of its own... once we harvest the land."

He got up from his seat and gazed at the captives.

"That is where Neo-Midgar will be built, with our money-sucking Mako Reactors. A necessity, but one worthy of Shinra, Inc. One of glory..."

"Bastard! Quit dreamin'!" Barret cursed.

"Oh, really, don't you know anything? These days money and power is the key for your dreams to become reality." He smiled rather haughtily at the group, making Barret all the angrier at how smug the man was expressing.

"I believe that is all... If you need anything, talk with my secretary," he said, as the guards led them away. It took two more plus Rude to drag Barret away, who wanted to do nothing more than to beat the President's face in with his fist and gun-arm.

Soon, they were tossed in the holding facilities in the building. Harry was stuck in a room with Aerith. In the next room, Cloud was shoved in with Tifa, and Barret was stuck with Red XIII. He was sitting at the foot of the metal supported bed cot by Aerith's feet. She was laying down in it. They didn't even bother stripping them of their weapons because the jail cells were reinforced, as proved when Barret attempted to break out. It was three hours ago when they were thrown in prison, and left there.

"I know... you think we'll be able to escape?" Tifa questioned to Cloud whispering.

"I can try," he whispered back. She smiled briefly.

"Hey, Aerith, are you okay?"

"Harry... I'll be fine," she replied.

He looked up to her, as she got up and moved, patting the spot by her. He got up, and joined her on the cot.

"Aerith?"

"Cloud... do you remember our deal earlier? One date..."

"EXCUSE me?"

Aerith blinked. "Tifa? You're with Cloud?"

"...... I get it..." she muttered to herself. No one heard her, before she moved off the cot, "I have a question for you Aerith. The Promised Land. Does it really exist?"

"I... I'm unsure," she softly spoke, "All I know is that the Cetra were born from the planet, speak with the planet, and unlock the planet. And then... the Cetra shall return to the Promised Land. A land that promises supreme happiness."

Harry looked over, concerned as he got up and walked up behind her. "Aerith... what does that mean?"

She smiles sadly. "More than words... I don't know."

"Speak with the planet?" questioned Cloud.

"Can you... understand it?"

"Heh... it's full of people and it's also noisy. That's why I can't make out what they are saying," she tells them.

Harry gently grabbed her hand and gave it a comforting squeeze, something which made Aerith feel warm. Concern was in his emerald eyes. "What of now, Aerith? Can you hear the planet?"

"... Only at the Church in the Slums. Mother said that Midgar was no longer safe. That is... my real mother."

She headed back to the cot and sat down, Harry joining her. She curled up close to Harry right now, clinging to him. "I'll break out of Midgar one day... I would go and speak with the planet, and find MY promised land. That... that's what mom said."

Harry wrapped his arms around Aerith, who sunk into his brotherly embrace. "As I grew I thought the voices would stop, but..."

She closed her eyes and rested against Harry.

"Hey, be quiet you assholes," muttered the guard who was falling asleep on duty... and then he began to snore again.

Harry closed his eyes as Aerith fell asleep against him.

_Hermione... if I ever get out of Midgar... I'll find you. If it takes forever... I need to know what has happened to you._

//FLASH//

"C'mon Harry! Hurry up or you'll miss the fireworks," shouted six year old Hermione, her green eyes filled with mirth and happiness, as a six year old Harry gave chase after his giggling sibling.

//FLASH//

"Harry," Hermione whispered, hugging her now ten year old brother, "I know you miss them..."

"It's not fair... why must this happen to me?" he whimpered, "why us for that matter?"

Hermione frowned, trying to calm her brother. "I'm not sure at all, Harry..."

//FLASH//

"You know that I'll always love you Harry," Hermione whispered, before kissing Harry on the cheek, clinging to him on top the roof of their small home.

The stars shined brightly in the night sky, the moon was full tonight, and there was a warm breeze. Fourteen year old Harry simply held Hermione in his arms, making a silent vow that he wouldn't abandon her. That he would do all he can to protect her from that madman who destroyed their lives, and took James and Lily from their lives.

//FLASH//

Harry winced, and then took a silent deep breath. It was quiet now, and Harry knew that the others were now conserving their strength, and getting what little rest they would probably get until tomorrow. But, he still felt that lingering guilt. He swore to himself long ago he would stay and protect Hermione, but he never could. And he broke that promise he made to himself.

_I hope she'll forgive me... wherever she is..._

* * *

**I know I updated fast... but half of this story is an old version I had stored on my desktop... I thought to completely revise all of it... that and walkthroughs of the game supplied on Youtube by **GoingCrazy201** somewhat helps for some of the parts I skipped in the old 2003 version. In the game, Materia Fusion was never known, but was a process used in Crisis Core. Should I involve the use of Materia Fusion from Crisis Core? Tell me what you think.**

Sweet Kagamine Kiss** casts the spell: Review!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Harry Potter's Meteor Crisis**

**Disclaimer & Author's Note:** I do not own Harry Potter, any mentioned Harry Potter characters, and I do not own the characters of Final Fantasy VII or the series themselves. I do own whatever minor OCs that pop up as fillers, and this strange half-altered novelization plotline.

* * *

**CHAPTER SEVEN**

President Shinra smiled to himself as already he was getting reviews and reports on the sudden up in rate production. He looked away from his main screen, and looked at another monitor, where he typed away on the keyboard, before clicking send with the ball mouse.

"And when dawn comes, I'll have AVALANCHE executed."

And this was his last thought on this night.

=0=0=

Harry yawned, as his eyes open up. He blushed when he realized that he and Aerith were cuddling up on the cot. Carefully he removed himself from her grasp, and stretched his arms to the side… only to notice a disturbing scenario. Blood trails, and the single guard posted by their cells: murdered.

"What the hell…?"

He walked over to the door that was left wide open and stuck in place, grimacing at all the coagulated blood smearing the walls, floor, and part of the ceiling.

"Guys! Guys, wake up!" Harry shouted, rushing past Cloud and Tifa to check on Red and Barret.

"Wha? What the hell's all the noise?"

"What the hell happened?" Cloud questioned, taking sight of the blood.

Tifa went over and examined the dead guard.

"Completely dead..."

"Damn... how could a body twist like that... that's inhuman." The guard's head was completely twisted backwards, the eyes were missing, and blood caked at the mouth where the tongue was missing.

"Hm... the blood leads a trail. I'll go on ahead."

"I'm going with Red," Harry said, following the fire lion.

"You guys follow those two, I'll catch up," Barret said. The three nodded and left.

Harry and Red XIII had taken out the last pink worm-like monsters with six eyes, four tentacle-like arms, and purple flesh-like horns; down below Cloud and the girls fought similar enemies in the blood littered hallways.

They arrived into the lab, where the dome to Jenova was broken and ripped apart. There a lot of blood was spilled.

"Jenova... did it escape...?"

"The blood leads to above," Red said as he and Harry ran off. Cloud was staring at the broken capsule, before he and the girls followed.

The group went up the back elevator, and followed the trail of blood and dead bodies. The woman from before was now brutally massacred. The door leading to the 69th floor was mysteriously unlocked, as security was littering the carpets with blood, and body parts.

"This is fucking disgusting..." Harry mumbled as they ran up the stairs, the sounds of Barret's boots thumping behind.

They were greeted by a sight. President Shinra, head on the table, with a sword in his back.

Barret lowered his gun-arm. "What...? He's dead... the leader of Shinra, Inc... Is dead," Barret mumbled.

"The sword..." Tifa ran over, around the desk, and went close to the body, Harry beside her as he looked at the seven foot long blade, "This must be...?"

"Sephiroth's," Cloud confirmed.

"Sephiroth is alive?" Tifa asked, unsure if she wanted to know the truth or not. It was frightening her.

"Sephiroth...?"

Suddenly, Harry noticed movement, and then Palmer was making a run for it. Cloud saw this and caught the fat man, who was babbling about Sephiroth coming, killing everyone before stabbing the president in the back, literally.

The sound of a helicopter soon arrived, and Palmer took the chance to escape out onto the balcony of the top floor.

"Rufus! FUCK! I forgot all about him!" Barret swore.

"The Vice President Rufus Shinra. The President's son?"

Barret nodded. Cloud said nothing, except run out to the balcony door. The others quickly followed the man.

=0=0=

The six had ran to the balcony, where they confronted a man wearing white dress slacks, undershirt with black tie, and a white dress shirt with coattails, and black polished shoes.

"So, Sephiroth was actually here... By the way..." Palmer escaped to the helicopter which had landed. He turned his attention to the arrivals, "Who are you?"

Cloud stepped up. "I'm Cloud, former SOLDIER First Class."

"I'm from AVALANCHE!" Barret shouted.

"Same here," Tifa replied.

"... A flower girl from the slums," Aerith spoke up.

"A research specimen..." Red XIII.

The light of the moon reflected off his glasses briefly as he looked at the young blonde, who eerily reminded him of his childhood bully, Draco. "Harry Potter..."

"Hm, interesting group of people assembled here tonight." The starts glittered in the indeed-night sky, as the full moon casted a glow upon them, "say child, have you been injected with Mako? Your emerald eyes seem to have a glow upon them."

"Many people say that... but I am sure I never had Mako inside of me... I'm not really from around Midgar."

Rufus simply nodded, accepting the answer. "Of course, they are like the brightest emeralds. But, back to topic, I am Rufus, the President of Shinra Inc."

"That's onl' cuz your dad died!" Barret yelled.

He turned to face the city, over Sector 4 and 3. "I'll probably let you hear my new appointment speech..."

He walked up to Tifa, who flinched. "The old man tried to control the world with money... and of course," he then went up to Aerith brushing a strand of hair from his eyes, "the population thought Shinra would protect them..."

He smiled briefly as he walked over, stopped, and then glanced at Barret who glared right back. "Work for Shinra, you get paid. And if the threat of terrorists emerge, Shinra will defend."

He cleared his throat, as he turned to glance at Harry, who on reflex reached for his sword. Rufus however just smiled sweetly – perhaps too sweetly. He returned to his former position on the balcony, and did the hair sweep motion.

"Looks perfect, but I do things differently... I control with fear, the plan my father had followed took too much... foolish old man. You see folks; a little fear will control the minds of the common people. There's no reason to waste money on them."

"He sure loves his speeches, just like his father," Tifa remarked.

"We should get out of here quick," Harry spoke up.

"I agree with Harry," said Cloud, as he stood guard, keeping his eyes on Rufus Shinra, "Harry, get the others out of the building. I'll catch up."

"Do be careful, Cloud," Harry told the man.

"Don't fret, kid. I'll be fine." He smiled briefly, before returning his glare at Rufus, who just smiled, also not wavering in his glare.

Harry and Barret led the girls and their lupine friend away from the balcony. Rufus made a step, but stopped when Cloud slowly deploys the Buster Sword.

"So… Cloud…" Rufus smiled, making Cloud's glare grow colder.

=0=0=

The second team in question went to the elevators, as Tifa remained on the floor below the top floor, to wait for Harry and Cloud.

"Get to the first floor. Once Cloud and Harry take care of Rufus, we'll get down there as well."

"Alright Tifa."

=0=0=

When they began descending the elevator, it went much slower than usual, as the second elevator nearby lowered to them with a techno-soldier tank armed with gun-arm machines. It took aim and shattered the glass that protected them from falling, before it fired at them. They ducked to evade the gunshots.

"Damn, we can't jump. It's too far to leap," Barret cursed, before he just open fired with his gun.

The bullets graze the armor, as it retaliated, managing to harm the man. Red howled as it casted a Fire spell, and Harry casted Thunder. The machine shuddered from the electrical pulse. Red XIII howled when his Limit Break snapped, and he defied gravity logic and struck the machine with a Sled Fang attack before seemingly retreating back next to Barret and Aerith.

"Take this ya hunk of metal scrap!" Barret casted Fire spells, which melted the guns on its shoulders. Aerith casted another Bolt spell, before the outer armor blew up and a flying machine popped out. She attacked with another Bolt spell, while Red and Barret attacked using their Fire Materia. She gave off a glow, before she spun her staff. Her hands glowed brightly before a whirlwind of light swirled around the trio, healing their injuries.

"Time to blow it up," Harry said, throwing two cooking grenades towards the machine's platform. Explosions ensued. The elevator broke off and plummeted, however the giant robot exploded, sending forth a flying machine that took aim with its guns. Barret unleashed another round of gun fire, jamming one of the propellers; however it got off a shot, sending him nearly going over the edge. It was hanging loosely, before Aerith finished it off with a Blizzard spell, and then a Thunder spell, the melted water off the previous attack adding more damage. It blew up. The elevator they were on shuddered before it returned to normal speed.

=0=0=

"Mm? Did you know that Sephiroth is an Ancient?" Rufus asked, walking towards the helicopter. He ordered Palmer to take controls of the helicopter and hover around, but not to interfere. A growl echoed as Rufus' pet dog/cat hybrid left the heli and strolled up to its master. Its tentacle tail whipped the ground as it hissed at the two watching Rufus' every move.

"... A lot has happened. Anyway, I cannot let either you or Sephiroth have the Promised Land!"

"Hm, I see we won't be friends then..."

Cloud readied his sword, against the demon looking cat dog creature, and Rufus Shinra, who was armed with an automatic shotgun weapon. His beloved Dark Nation casted a spell called Barrier on his master before attacking Cloud with a forceful bite on his forearm. He grunted as he managed to kick the beast away. Rufus fired his shotgun at Cloud, who had now managed his Limit Break Blade Beam, sending a wave of energy at the young man, which then split and struck his pet who snarled, it's tail lost. Cloud ran forward almost quickly, slashing downward after. Rufus nearly deflected the attack wiht his gun, and fired. Cloud stumbled back, caught in the stomach. Rufus brought the shotgun up like a blade, swinging it and clocking the man in the head. Rufus then took this time to attack. Cloud however rushed forward and kicked Rufus away before he could fired off another round. Dark Natio snarled and rushed the man, clawing and biting. He fired off an Ice Spell. Rufus kicked Cloud back when Cloud managed a surprise kick to his pet's lower hind legs, rolled out of Cloud's following attack, countering with another shotgun blast. A roll to the left, and a quick spring, sends the blade slicing the Dark Nation's head right off.

Rufus backed away at that, as Cloud prepped himself. "Hm, all the time we have tonight." He looked up as the helicopter flew by, and grabbed hold of the feet railing. It flew off into the distance.

The man watched on, before he collected his winnings, Protect Vest and Guard Source. He left and reunited with Tifa the floor below.

"What happened?"

"Rufus got away... let's get going."

=0=0=

Tifa saw Harry finish off the last Shinra robot guard before he noticed her. Together, they both ran down the stairs. The explosion echoing had sounded like it had been set off within the building itself. They took the stairs three steps at a time before they finally made it to the battlefield. She was just in time to see Aerith smash a member of SOLDIER from his feet, while Barret's gun tore through the armor of three men who had tried to shield themselves. Red was casting several Fire spells from his Materia. She swiftly summoned the others with a booming shout. The startled group ran behind her and was shocked as she opened the door of a Shinra car. Harry ran to them after casting several Fire and Thunder spells, and then released his last grenade which destroyed the doors, caused a minor collapse, and prevent anybody else from getting in. The truck that Tifa found was designed almost like a bike infused with a pick-up. The colors were a shoddy blue accent with yellow trims.

"What the hell are we getting in this for? And where is Cloud?" Barret shouted at Tifa.

"We are getting out of the city. Cloud said to get some form of transport and that he would join us. Get in we have no time!" Tifa shouted from the front of the van. Aerith swiftly jumped in and rode shotgun, while Red and Harry joined Barret on the exposed rear compartment.

Cloud roared down the stairs. He was astride a very powerful motorcycle that was black and heavily armored. "Follow me! Ask no questions; just do it!" He then turned on the tap and made the bike swerve onto a large stair set. Tifa gunned the engine and drove the van off the display, ready to escape.

At first Cloud thought the truck would not be able to follow his lead, but his doubts were smashed moments later when it had found traction on the stair carpet. The group found themselves in front of a huge window some eighteen feet by sixteen feet wide. Cloud twisted the throttle a couple of times to signal to the others that he was about to do what they guessed. Cloud twisted the throttle to the maximum and the bike surged forward. Popping the bike into high wheelie, the glass smashed as if it had been cracked all over. Below them startled guards rushed towards motorcycles as they watched in disbelief at the sight of the escape. Cloud checked the position of his bike and landed smoothly, instantly he roared down the asphalt highway. A quick glance in his rear view mirrors allowed him to see that the others had made it down to the motorway safely and that no-one had been hurt. They had done it, or so he believed until he saw the headlights flash in his rear view mirror, angrily he dropped back behind the truck.

"Cloud, what's wrong?" Barret called out from the rear compartment of the truck.

"The Shinra have sent a mobile pursuit after us. Tell Tifa to floor it; I'll cover you from here."

Barret nodded his head and leant towards the open window; Cloud meanwhile drew his sword and readied himself for what was to come. Cloud swung his blade at the tires to swerve them into the ground. One biker suddenly zoomed up, and Harry held a fierce look in his eyes. He jumped off and landed on the bike whilst the driver got removed and sprawled unconscious on the pavement. Harry cursed, almost losing control of his bike before correcting himself. Realizing he's gotten an extra sword for use Cloud swung, disabling another biker. Harry zoomed up ahead when four yellow bikers flew past and were attacking the truck. He moved and struck them down with the Gryffindor Sword several times before they fell to the stone pavement.

Cloud stayed following behind taking out any that would try and stop them. Those that got past the blonde would meet Harry and the Sword of Gryffindor. Harry glanced back, seeing several cyclists were speeding up at them. Some got past him, but two hung back and swung night sticks. Harry slowed down only to speed up as he sliced the back tire of one biker. He slammed into the ground face first. Cloud took out any that attempted to stop them from escaping. Suddenly gunfire rained down on them, and Harry cried out as one bullet got him in the leg. He was steadying his bike and not wipeout.

"Fuck. Chopper pursuit!" Harry shouted to Cloud, who nailed down another annoying biker.

"Holy hell!" Barret cursed as a helicopter decided to give chase, and open fired with its machine guns situated under the wings. Tifa swerved to dodge the gunfire, as Cloud and Harry too evaded. Barret lifted his gun arm and open fired, best he could trying to get them to stop pursuit. With the mobile pursuit, and the chopper, they weren't sure they could escape safely. But Barret growled, as he fired an explosive Big Shot. The helicopter was struck, and the pilot and the gunner both bailed before it was consumed in a fireball.

"That took out the chopper," Harry muttered, wincing as the pain in his leg ached. He got hit in the side by a man riding up beside him, and Harry running on adrenaline swung and struck his hand, leaving a cut. Distracted, the man steers out of path and slams into a guard rail, and flew over the edge. They crossed over two bridges and through a long tunnel, up a hill way and down the steepness. Harry did a wheelie and crashed down upon a Shinra biker, swerving perfectly to avoid a wipeout as the armored man ate pavement. Fifty feet passed and the Shinra Troopers ceased chasing AVALANCHE; but a few continued however.

Suddenly up ahead a warning barrier appeared informing them that less than 300 feet of road remained, which they had since then crashed through. Harry looked back, as he felt an ominous chill run through his body. Tifa immediately applied the brakes and pulled the van to a stop by the roadside, Cloud and Harry meanwhile ducked around the van and skidded to a halt. The few bikers that chased went past them and they screamed as they plummet over the edge. The highway was incomplete, and it was to lead to some more roads that pave some areas of the outside land of Midgar. Before them was a vision they had not expected to see again anytime soon. All before them was a scene of lush greenery and a sparkling night sky.

"Wow, so this is what it looks like outside Midgar?" Harry asked, and then grunted as he pricked the bullet out of his leg using the sword. Aerith ran to his aid, and casted a Cure spell on his wound.

"Yup…"

"Such a beautiful sky," Barret said, as off in the distance, the first hint of sunlight was emerging.

Suddenly a rolling mechanical sound reached their ears, as the group turned to see a Shinra techno soldier roll up as a giant spiked ball. They ducked away as it crashed down over their vehicles they used to escape the headquarters of Shinra Inc. before rolling back, and transforming into a large shoulder-guarded machine robot attached to six spiked wheels. It was armed with a sword, shield, and its head was a visor and spiked face-plate. It slashed down at Harry as he was closest, but the teenager ducked away, as the blade got stuck in the road cement.

Harry took this chance to dash right up its stuck arm, and then stabbed the sword into an exposed joint. Launching his glove-clad fist down, he channeled a Thunder spell. It shook him and his weapon off, as Cloud flung a Thunder spell. Flamethrowers pop out, and jets of fire are launched at them, but Harry and Red had dodged the attack. The wolf howled as he released a Blizzard spell.

"Crap, this machine can take a beatin'," Barret cursed, dodging gunfire and retaliating with his own rounds.

"Yeah, I know," Harry muttered, rolling to the side as it lashed out with its melee weapon.

Aerith waved her weapon like a magical staff and swirling winds collected around the machine before it froze completely. Red had charged the machine in a spiraling aura and splintered its armor. Barret formed the fire red ball of energy and unleashed it, as the splintered armor shattered, sending shrapnel everywhere. Tifa unloaded on it with her Beat Rush and Somersault. Cloud released a Blade Beam, and Harry finished it off by releasing a Serene Blade Limit Break.

Everyone ducked as shrapnel flew everywhere as the machine exploded. Not many could go after them, because, in order to keep up appearances, Shinra were busy sending their help to the victims of the Sector 7 Collapse. The gang was admiring the scenery at the edge of the dead-end, their vehicles left abandoned.

"I never thought I'd see the sky again,' Harry said, taking a deep breath. The air was cold as it entered his lungs.

"Certainly a lot better than in the Slums, that's for sure," Barret said, before looking to Cloud, "Now what do we do?"

"Sephiroth is alive… and I have a score to settle with him."

"And that'll save the planet?"

"I guess so."

Harry looked to the others. "I'm going… I have something to do… I have to look for my sister."

"Your sister? You have a sister, Harry?"

"Yeah… but my guilty conscious is telling me to look for her…" He smiled sadly, "don't' get me wrong. I'm not leaving the group… just…. Wherever we're going… I…"

Tifa hushed him. "I understand what you're saying."

"Thanks," he whispered, turning around to wipe the tears away from his eyes.

"I'll go, too," Aerith said immediately. She glanced at Cloud and smiled sadly, "There's so much I wanna find out..."

Cloud stared at her in understanding. "About the Ancients?"

She nods. "Many things."

"Then its goodbye Midgar," Harry says.

=0=0=

Everyone was using a large crane to lower the cable hook down far enough outside city limits. One by one, they had climbed down, Barret having a bit of trouble since Red had no opposable thumbs.

"Hopefully Elmyra left her house with Marlene," Harry told Barret.

"She did say that she was planning on leaving," Aerith spoke up, "I know she will keep Marlene safe."

"That's a relief," Barret sighed.

"So… guys… we left the hell known as Midgar… and we're outside city limits. But if we stick around for too long, we're sure to be followed. They wouldn't quit. I just know it."

"Harry's right," Tifa agreed, "we should split into two groups set for Kalm."

"Kalm? That's off in the northwest?"

"Yup. So… who's with who?"

Harry shrugged.

"You know… I'll stick with Harry," said Tifa, as she walked to the boy's side. Aerith looked to the other guys, then her other female companion, and stood on Harry's other side. Harry chuckled.

"Well… huh." Barret had nothing else to say, and Cloud had a rather jealous look in his eyes. Haryr just blushed a bit as the girls each place an arm around him.

"So, we'll see you in Kalm," said Tifa, as they headed off one direction.

"So, shall we get going ourselves?" questioned Red XIII.

"Lucky," Barret muttered.

The three guys head off in another direction. Both groups were set for Kalm, and to get ahead of the Shinra that are sure to try and follow them.

=0=0=

"I'm sorry, Albus," Minerva said, as she laid in the Hogwarts Infirmary, with a missing hand.

Dumbledore was saddened by the lost of so many students at Hogsmeade. Voldemort was ruthless now that the one who can defeat the Dark Lord offed himself. Now, it did not matter what or who you were. If you didn't pledge allegiance to the Dark Lord, you die. There were 47 deaths from Gryffindor, 37 from Hufflepuff, 23 from Ravenclaw, and only 16 from Slytherin. Professor Flitwick died trying to save a first year Slytherin from a group of Death Eaters that attempted to rape her. But what was more disgusting, and sad, was Ronald Weasley, when he shoved Luna in front of him to shield himself from a Killing Curse. But his attempt to survive got him a dark unknown curse to strike him in the back. Pending charges brought upon by Miss Lovegood's father, Ronald Weasley was a permanent ward of St. Mungos.

"Why?"

Fawkes particularly did not like how her master had become.

"You were supposed to kill him," he moaned, cursing Harry's name down into the dirt, "and then I was to take the glory after you killed one another."

Clearly, the old man was now delusional in the two years since Harry Potter's death.

"… I just can't. The prophecy said that only Harry can kill Voldemort," he muttered, before walking off into his back storage of all sorts of ancient magical tomes. Fawkes glared, but the old man was now looking for something.

"Aha…" He pulled out a little black book. On the cover was old Latin.

Necromancy is what it would read in English.

* * *

**A bit short now… but… meh. I got something interesting planned. I'm also using a bit of Dirge of Cerberus when it comes to expanded towns and whatnot. Like Kalm… now, the next chapter will have our infamous flashback story with Cloud, and something else.**

**EDIT: Huh... that was a minor technicality/error on my end. Parts of thsi story was from an older '03-'04 version I had stored on my computer. Corrections were made. Sorry for the inconvience.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Harry Potter's Meteor Crisis**

**Disclaimer & Author's Note:** I do not own Harry Potter, any mentioned Harry Potter characters, and I do not own the characters of Final Fantasy VII or the series themselves. I do own whatever minor OCs that pop up as fillers, and this strange half-altered novelization plotline.

* * *

**CHATER EIGHT**

Harry wondered the town of Kalm. It took only a day walking by foot, but they had made it by mid afternoon. Cloud had gone off to the inn to rent rooms for the day. The others just went off to see the town. As Harry continued walking, he bumped into somebody.

"Hey watch it," snapped a girl.

"Sorry," Harry apologized.

Then he heard a gasp.

"Harry?"

He turned around, and blinked.

"Do I know you?"

"Harry! It's me! Remember? I'm Zndria Clements! You rescued me, remember?"

"… Oh my… Zndria!" He laughed, "Wow, I almost didn't recognize you."

The girl had certainly grown since he last saw her. Her once short dark hair was now longer, waist length with streaks of orange in them. Two thin braids ran down the sides of her face and were also orange-dyed. Her eyes were a cyan blue, and she has a bit of a tan worthy of being under the sun at the Costa del Sol. And her... ahem... bust size was rounding to 32B, he assumed. Maybe they were bigger. She wore low-cut blue jeans and grayish brown leather open-toed sandals, a type of loon pants with thin black belt (which, in short explanation are a type of bell-bottom jeans, only the leggings are flared out more from the knee area), and a stretchy silk-like lavender tube top. She wore a Mythril Armlet as simple decoration, and had a gold ring snapped around the left ankle (though it was hidden partially by the pant leg).

"Now you DO remember me, huh?" she asked, striking a rather sexy pose, "I look cuter, do I?"

"Uh, yeah," he said, blushing a bit. She giggled and grasped his arm. The now fifteen year old Zndria Clements, a girl who was from the Corel area, leaned close.

"So, what are you doing here in Kalm, Harry?"

He smiled politely. "I'm here with some friends of mine I met in Midgar," he told her.

"Oh. I heard you were traveling. Never thought you'd explore Midgar of all places. Then again, it's the best city in the world pending you have enough Gil to live such a good life style."

Harry shrugged indifferent.

"I lived there for a year, and then decided to leave," he told her, thinking of holding back how he actually lived in Midgar, and got involved eventually with AVALANCHE, and the ugly business Shinra's been having behind closed doors.

"With friends, of course," she says, as the two walked through the local street market that was busy with the various shoppers that take residence in the town, and from other minor towns nearby or far, "You know, though... my offer from two years ago still stands," she whispered into his ear.

He shivered a bit at her hot breath ticking his ear.

"Zndria... I... I just don't know... I mean, we're but... two years apart," he said in a hushed tone.

She pulled him into a nearby empty alleyway, and pressed herself against him.

"Harry..."

"Zndria... is there a place we can go to here or something?"

"Sure... I moved here a year ago. I'll show you where I live." She led him away, down the cobblestone street passing another street that would lead to the pubs, a Materia and Other Deals Market, and some printing booth. Harry couldn't help but notice that she had a tattoo of a pink butterfly close to the right hip of her rear end.

"Hey... where's Harry?" Tifa questioned, meeting up with Aerith.

"I have no clue," responded the flower girl, who had taken her sweet time visiting a garden shop that grew different types of flowers.

"Yo girls, Cloud got us two large rooms for the night," Barret told the girls as he walks up to them with Red XIII following the burly man.

"That's great and all but Harry said he'd return here shortly but never did."

"Maybe I can be of some help," Red spoke up, "I do remember Harry's scent, so it shouldn't be that hard to find him even in a busy town like this."

"Can you find him, then?" pleaded Tifa.

"Don't worry. I'll sniff him out," said Red, before he got down with his nose and began to sniff around, eventually picking up something and wandering off, following the trail. The girls followed.

"Tell Cloud we'll be back with Harry shortly," Aerith told the man.

"Yeah, sure thing," he said.

=0=0=

"Huh... nice pad," he said, being invited into the small one story home.

"It's not much, but its home to me," she says.

Harry shut the door behind him as Zndria took her sandals off and collapsed onto a large comfy blue couch. Harry politely sat down on the opposite end of her.

"So..." Harry didn't know what to say, being invited into a girl's home.

She smiled, then moved over, and leaned up against the older teenager.

"I was serious about my offer," she whispered.

"You're serious... aren't you?" he asked.

**A/N:** No serious/Sirius jokes, even though they are a bit funny.

She nodded, pressing herself up against him as her hand moved down his shirt.

"Even if it's just a one-time thing," she pressed on, leaning closer to his face.

"I... I..."

"Shh," she shushed him, pressing a finger to his lips. She moved it away, only to lock lips with his. Her tongue licked along his lower lip, and Harry gently opened his mouth and met hers with his. She moaned into his mouth, prompting Harry to deepen the kiss. He now held onto her, as her hands clenched his shirt. Suddenly there was a knock at the door, and the two parted in surprise. She coughed a bit, as the two teenagers now held blushes.

"Hold on, please," she called out to whoever was at the door.

Harry himself was controlling, and succeeding at willing his blush away. The tanned girl go ther hormones under check, and strides to the door, opening it.

"Hello? What can I do for you?"

"Harry? What are you doing here?" Tifa called over to Harry, seeing him sitting in the couch from the doorway.

Zndria blinked, looking back between our busty brunette and to Harry, and back again. "You know Harry?"

"Yeah, he's a friend of mine," she said.

"Tifa... Aerith... what are you girls doing here?"

"Looking for you," the flower girl told the teen, "Cloud and Barret came back, and Red's waiting for us already. He said something about kids trying to get a ride on his back."

"Oh, okay," he said a bit quickly, shooting an apologetic glance at Zndria.

"Will you come back later, Harry? I really want to catch up with you."

"Sure thing," he said, giving her a hug before following Tifa and Aerith.

The girl smiled to herself, closing the door and resting against it as she slides down to the floor. She bit her lower lip gently, whimpering a bit as she felt very warm. One hand slowly slides down, and into her jeans.

=0=0=

"Yo! You're late," Barret yelled at them before entering the nearby hotel bar.

"Not my fault... I was getting reacquainted with an old friend," Harry complained, still avoiding the looks from Aerith and Tifa.

Everyone piled into the hotel, and up to their room. Cloud moved to sit in one of the beds, and Harry was the last to walk inside and shut the door behind him, taking a place on another bed.

"Everyone's here now." He took this chance to look at Harry who sheepishly smiled, "So, Cloud... the story, the one about Sephiroth and the crisis fating against the planet... what's it about?" Barret questioned.

Cloud looked up to the ceiling before facing the others. "...... I used to want to be like Sephiroth, so I joined SOLDIER. After working several missions with Sephiroth, we became friends. He's older than me, and he hardly talked about himself..."

"Ya call that a friend?"

"Hm... hardly talked about himself... he reminds me of a man I once knew... his name was Severus Snape... excuse me, please continue Cloud." Tifa was silent.

Cloud did so. "So, I guess you'd call him a war buddy. We trusted each other... until one day..."

"One day...?"

"After the war it was SOLDIER's duty to put down any resistance against Shinra..."

//FLASHBACK//

_It was five years ago... I was sixteen..._

"It sure is raining hard," Cloud said, as he peered out the back flaps.

A younger-looking Cloud Strife was in the back, with two Shinra guards in blue uniform, and a man with a black trenchcoat-like cape, pants, boots, and numerous belt straps, three on each arm. He had shoulder gauntlets worn, and a well defined body. His eyes held a soft glow in them, with long silvery white hair, two fang-like bangs hanging over his face. This man was Sephiroth. His seven foot long blade Masamune was currently resting in its defined and well-taken care of sheath resting by his feet. Up in front, the driver in a Shinra uniform was driving down the paths, heading towards the town of Nibelhiem.

Cloud went over to the guard nearest Sephiroth's position. "How are you?"

The guard waved his hand, and mumbled about being fine. Cloud nodded a bit, unsure of the answer.

Cloud was restless, until Sephiroth spoke in a silky, regal voice. "Hey." Cloud was startled as he turned to face the man, "settle down."

"I can't settle down... I'm so excited. I was given some new Materia. Can't wait to use it."

Sephiroth closed his eyes. "Just like a kid..."

"You going to brief us about the mission?"

Sephiroth responds, "... this isn't a typical mission."

Cloud grinned. "Good!"

"Hm, why do you say that?" Sephiroth questioned, taking the time to look Cloud in the eyes.

Cloud turned away from him, and sighed. "I joined SOLDIER so I can be like you. But by the time I made First Class... the war was already over. My big hopes of becoming a hero like you ended with the war." He closed his eyes. "That's why I always sign up whenever there's a big mission. Kind of a way to prove myself..."

He turned back to Sephiroth, "Say, how you feel, MISTER Sephiroth?"

"I thought you wanted a briefing?" He questioned a light hint of amusement in the man's eyes before it quickly faded away.

Cloud sweatdropped before he sat down, and listened.

"Our mission is to investigate an old Mako reactor. It has been malfunctioning, and producing brutal creatures. First, we will dispose of those creatures. Then, we'll locate the problem and neutralize it."

"The mission and these brutal creatures?"

"The mission is the Mako reactor at Nibelhiem... where the reports of brutal creatures are."

"... Nibelhiem... my hometown."

Suddenly the truck stopped, jolting everyone. "Hey boss, something just smacked the truck!"

Sephiroth stood up, picking up the Masamune. "I guess that would be our monster."

Cloud watched as he got out, and he followed the man, bringing with him his Buster Sword. The rain was pouring down, and lightning flashed in the distance, as a giant green dragon-like creature moved away, the truck backing up to a safe distance. Sephiroth slowly pulled the Masamune from the sheath, and swiped the air before him, in a challenging form. The dragon eyed the two and roared at them, crouching down into an attack position. Sephiroth suddenly rushed in and swung the blade with an angelic grace, cutting very deep and severing one of its arms. It roared in anguish and slammed its tail at the white haired man. He was pushed back, but didn't fall to the ground. Cloud jumped into the air and slashed, damaging its wing before he was swatted away with the dragon's remaining arm. He crashed into the mud. Sephiroth rushed in, and the blade pierced through the chest, the point poking out the back in between the wing joints. He pulled the blade and in an instant severed the head from the body spraying blood all over but himself. The dead corpse collapsed in the muddy ground, as Cloud got up. Sephiroth swung the sword twice wiping the blood clean using the hard downpour of the rain before sheathing it again. Cloud was in awe of Sephiroth's amazing ability.

//HOLD//

"Sephiroth's strength is unreal. He is far stronger in reality than any story you might have heard about him," Cloud explained to the team.

"So Cloud," Aerith cut in, "where do you come in?"

"Me? I was mesmerized by the way Sephiroth fought. Granted, I was able to land a few hits on the dragon that crashed into the truck on that stormy night... but it was Sephiroth who had slayed it."

Tifa looked down, before looking back at her childhood friend. "..."

"... and then we reached Nibelhiem."

//RESUME//

Sephiroth left the truck that had parked outside the town, and was walking toward the entrance. He turned around to face Cloud who was helping pack up things and unloading them from the truck.

"How does it feel? It is the first time you have returned home in a long while... so how does it feel?"

Cloud put the last box down before looking up towards the man.

"I wouldn't know because I don't have a hometown..."

"Um... how 'bout your parents?" Cloud questioned.

Sephiroth put a closed fist to his forehead, head tilted down as he closed his eyes. "My mother Jenova. She died after my birth. And my father..." He then started to chuckle, before he broke out laughing. Cloud watched, silent, as Sephiroth soon calmed down, "what does it matter...? Alright, let's go."

Cloud and the two guards walked up, before Cloud sprinted towards the town square.

_"Wait a minute. Isn't that the name of Sephiroth's mother...?"_

//HOLD//

"Hell I remember Jenova. That's that damn headless spook livin' in the Shinra building!" Barret shouted.

Cloud nodded. "That's right."

"Barret, please let the rest of us hear what Cloud has to say? You can ask questions later."

Barret looked at Aerith, before he calmed down and sat back down in the chair that surprisingly held his weight.

//RESUME//

_... I was really surprised with Tifa... the town... it was quiet that day..._

"We will leave for the reactor at dawn. Make sure you get to sleep early," Sephiroth explained, before he entered. But then he called over his shoulder, "feel free to explore your hometown before coming in for the night."

Cloud nodded, as he went around the town, visiting areas of the place except the big mansion off in the distance. He saw his mother, who was a vibrant young woman when he met her again five years ago, but...

...

...

...

...

...

...

... Then he went to Tifa's house...

...

...

...

...

...

...

......... It was the next day, and Cloud, Sephiroth, and the two Shinra guards were ready to leave. That was when Tifa arrived.

"Listen to me, Sephiroth... in case something happens..."

"Do not worry. We will take good care of your daughter," He explained.

"Oh father, I will be fine. I got two men from SOLDIER to protect me," she reasoned (surprising Hermione as young Tifa sounded like her).

"Hello, I'm Tifa. I'll be your guide to the mountains," she greeted Sephiroth, bowing. Cloud turned around catching the voice he knew.

"Tifa... Tifa!? You're our guide?"

"That's right."

"No, out of the question! I can't let you get in danger!"

Sephiroth then cut in. "Then you wouldn't mind protecting her then." The way he said it prevented any further argument.

_A Mako Reactor was built in Mt. Nibel. The cold air of the mountains of Nibel... It was no different... no different at all..._

The sunlight from the hazy clouds filtered some areas of the dreaded mountain. The very jagged areas of the twisted and nasty-looking mountain lands would fill any normal mountain climber with a sense of dread. Fog rolled along lower areas of the mountain area, wind whistling in the higher areas, plus a long rope bridge with rickety wood planks off one low end, to a high top point of a jagged peak near the reactor, Shinra Mission's target of destination. Cloud walked with Tifa, Sephiroth leading. Behind the two teens were the two Shinra soldiers. Upon reaching the bridge, she stopped to tell Cloud some advice.

"Now, it gets harder from here. Follow me!"

Suddenly high pitched shrieks filled the cold whistling air as three Harriers flew in. They looked like mutated pterodactyls the way their physical appearance looked. The heads however were bird-like, long sharp yellow beaks, and they were mainly purple, eyes glowing white. Sephiroth casted his Blizzaga spell. A buzzing filled the air and the air turned frigid as a swirling mass of blue and lavender fog surrounded the enemies, then jagged large spikes of ice collected forming a spiky crystal which shattered and sent a blast of ice through.

They shrieked their death cries, vanishing and disintegrating into Gil winnings and bits of broken fyreflies. However the Gil was in the air and they fell into the jagged depths of the mountain floor, approximately 100 feet high. The bridge was old however and the battle had made it snap partially. Cloud held on, as did Sephiroth. Tifa was grabbed by the blonde teenager, before the bridge fully snapped and broke. They all fell...

=0=0=

Cloud and Tifa slowly stirred, in pain, but they were alright.

"Tifa, are you okay...?"

"Yes, I am..."

Sephiroth and one Shinra soldier walked from around the bend, also hurt but fine.

"Hm, everyone seems to be alright. Can we get back to where we were?" Sephiroth asked Tifa.

"Uh, I don't think so. However, there's a cavern we can take that could lead up to the reactor. It's just the long way," she explained sheepishly. Sephiroth nodded.

"Alright, we'll take that route then."

"Wait! I think we're missing a member..."

Sephiroth closed his eyes. "It may sound cold of me to say, but we have no time to search for him. We'll have to move on without him. Before we left, I had explained that if we are to get separated, return immediately to the town... if our missing soldier is still alive."

Tifa didn't look all that pleased, but she agreed reluctantly to Sephiroth's word. "Oh... well, alright then."

Sephiroth walked ahead, with Cloud and Tifa following, and the remaining Shinra soldier behind the two teens. The trail was winding, as Tifa had warned, and they encountered several more monsters that made a living around these areas. Of course they were no match to Sephiroth when he unleashed his might. They reached a cavern, which when they entered was beautiful with all sorts of colors.

"What is this?" Cloud awed.

"A mysteriously colored cavern," Tifa answered.

"This must be the Mako energy. This mountain is especially abundant in it. This was why the reactor was built in these areas."

His eyes narrowed when he saw movement in the shadows. Sephiroth suddenly pushed Tifa to the ground and took the full brunt of an enemy attack. Cloud saw this and slashed through a mutant purple worm-like monster with six yellow eyes and wavy tentacles. Three green bug-like monsters crawled from the darkness, a cross of a grasshopper and the head and forelegs of a mosquito. The Shinra guard rolled out of a second purple mutant worm, as Sephiroth sliced that enemy to death. He turned back and casted Thundaga when Cloud dodged an attack and backed over to shield Tifa. Large bolts of electricity, powerful enough to upturn stone, vaporized the shrieking creatures.

"Let us hurry through," Sephiroth said as they ran for it towards the other side. Sephiroth turned around when more of the creatures appeared, and he casted a Firaga spell, to burn them to death.

"Commander Sephiroth!" yelled the Shinra soldier, as his gun took out one leaping grasshopper-like mutant, but did not kill it.

Sephiroth narrowed his eyes, and casted a Fira spell this time. The flames released were a bit weaker than the Firaga attack, but it was enough to set fire on the insects. Quick cuts of his weapon and the giant stalagmites smash into the ground, creating a makeshift barrier to hold off any monsters that would try to follow. The next room was filled with dried wooden foliage. In the center light filtered down, over a fountain of raw Mako, a faint yet harmonious hum filling the air around said fountain.

"Oh wow... what is this?"

"It is a Mako fountain. It's a miracle of nature," Sephiroth explained. Tifa sprinted over to the fountain, careful not to touch it or disturb the water pooling at its feet. Cloud followed her, and soon Sephiroth too. The guard kept a look out as it walked over, keen on keeping Tifa safe.

"If the Mako Reactor continues to suck up the energy, this fountain will dry up too..."

"Materia," Sephiroth spoke, "When you condense Mako, it produces Materia. Of course, it is very rare to see Materia in its natural raw form."

"By the way," Cloud interjected, "why is it that when you use Materia, you can use magic too?"

Sephiroth held a slight amused smile. "You were in SOLDIER, yet you didn't know that? The knowledge and wisdom of the Ancients is held in the Materia," he described, "Anyone with this knowledge can freely use the powers of the Land and the Planet. That knowledge interacts between ourselves and the planet calling up magic...... or so they say."

"Magic... a mysterious power..." Cloud thought out loud. Sephiroth shook his head and chuckled. Cloud looked at him funny as Tifa bent down to look into the water. "Something funny I said?"

His chuckles soon stopped, but he still had that amused smile as he looked at Cloud, though he shook his head sideways a bit. "A man once told me never to use an unscientific term such as mysterious power! _It shouldn't even be called magic!"_ he quoted Professor Hojo, "Oh, I still remember how angry he was."

"And he would be?"

"Hojo of Shinra, Inc. ... An inexperienced man assigned to take over the work of a great scientist. That man was a walking mass of complexes."

Tifa finally got back up from bending down, and looked at Sephiroth, then eyed the fountain. "A Mako fountain... so this is where the knowledge of the Ancients is..."

=0=0=

The group had found the exit from the caverns of that area, taking a winding path up. Of course, they had a run-in with a dragon, and as they were a bit on a narrowed path, Sephiroth casted Poisonda which made the vicious dragon very ill. Weakened enough for Cloud to send it over the edge and disappear into the clouded depths below. The pathway finally brought them to the Reactor that was built within the lands of the dangerous mountain. Sephiroth and Cloud entered, while the Shinra guard kept Tifa out. When she complained, Sephiroth explained only Shinra verified personnel are allowed within. There were Shinra-guarded secrets inside the normal public eye cannot see.

She just pouted and waited, as the guard kept his hand on his semi-automatic. Inside the large factory, Cloud and Sephiroth walked the pipes to a platform. Whereas Sephiroth jumped down in a graceful manner, Cloud played it safe climbing the chain to the larger walkway situated on a metal pipe, towards an entrance. The next room however was bathed in red and white soft light. Egg pods and a mass of tangled cables lined the rows on three high shelves. These cables also roped the ceiling as well, some larger than a tree trunk. The center stairway led to a door up above, where Sephiroth was. The door had a sign above a large glowing green light sphere: JENOVA.

"This is... Jenova, right? The lock won't open..." He went down the stairs onto the first row of pods, and looked, until he spotted the pod with the malfunction; an open valve. "Hm, here's the malfunction. This part is broken. Cloud, fix it up, please."

Cloud went over, and went to work. Five minutes he stood up, the part repaired, and sealed up tight. When Sephiroth mumbled on the broken valve, he peered into the egg pod on the right of Cloud. After he peered in, he dropped to his feet and sighed.

"Hojo... now I see... even doing this you'll never be on the same level as Professor Gast."

"Sephiroth?" Cloud had walked over to the slightly distraught man.

"This is a system that condenses and freezes the Mako energy... that is, when it's working correctly. Cloud, what does Mako become when it's further condensed?"

"Oh, it becomes a Materia stone," Cloud answered.

"Right, normally. But Hojo put something else in there... look."

He stepped away, as Cloud grabbed the edges and peered through after slightly climbing up.

Inside the liquid-submerged pod was what appears to be a human being, only mutated with fleshy looking tentacles growing out from the head. The teeth were all sharp canines, but the eyes were overshadowed by the tentacles and few strands of hair that hasn't turned into flesh. The facial features were sub-human at best. Basically, the creature, as it's possible to call it a full human, was a nightmare. Cloud let go as he fell down, horror displayed. Sephiroth close his eyes and sighed.

"Normal humans of SOLDIER are humans that have been showered with Mako. You're different from the others, but still human. But, what are they?" His hand lightly moved toward the egg pods, "They've been exposed to a high degree of Mako, far more than you."

Cloud slowly got up. "This... Is this some kind of monster?"

"Exactly. And it's Hojo of Shinra that produced these monsters. Mutated living organisms produced by Mako energy. That's what these creatures truly are."

"Normal members... You mean you're different?"

Then, something within Sephiroth snapped. He grabbed his sword and slashed at the egg pod as his mind began to race, remembering his childhood and how special he was told to be, creating light scratches in the Mythril-enforced armor plating. "... Was I created this way too?"

Cloud had by then stumbled back to the ground level of the room, watching in horror at the anger washing over Sephiroth. He walked over to the egg Cloud had fixed and began scratching it up as well, slashing away with his blade and venting his anger.

"Am I the same as all these monsters...?"

"... Sephiroth..."

"You saw it," he panted, "all of them... were humans..."

"Human!? No way!"

Sephiroth slowly moved away from the pod, as he walked towards Cloud, but didn't descent the stairs. "I've... I've always felt since I was small... that I was different than others. Special, in a way... but not like this..."

A sudden hiss made Sephiroth with wide eyes snap around to the sound, which originated from the second row of pods. The pod began to shudder as a bolt of lightning shot from the crease that lined the door then began to crackle with electricity. Steam hissed as the door was cracking open, the cables breaking apart. The creature within was awake, alive, and it let out a high-pitched feminine shriek. The bolts that kept the door sealed up were slowly threatening to break. Steam burst up as the pod's functions began to short-circuit. The bolts under the pressure finally shattered, and the door was slammed open, the liquid within spilled everywhere from the Mako that the creature was swimming in. A bright blue light filled the room, against the red dull lights. The creature now snarled as steam rose off its body, the Mako waste, and the busted cables and pipes. The horribly grotesque creature, ragged wart-like bumps, hard course skin, and some areas thick in muscle, but its legs form the thighs down were glowing a fierce red, the feet half complete as bone, muscle sinew and glowing blood leaked. Bone-like spines under the skin's back jutted along the shoulder blades, the two inch-long claws scratching at the door. The very air appeared to be killing the demon.

_Am I...... human? I didn't quiet understand what Sephiroth was saying at the time. I was even more surprised by the fact that Shinra was producing monsters._

//HOLD//

"Damn, Shinra! The more I hear, the more I hate 'em!" Barret yelled.

Tifa was surprised. "... Who would have ever thought the Mako Reactor held a secret like that."

"That would seem to explain the increase in the number of monsters recently," Red XIII spoke up, "I think we should listen to Cloud. Don't you think so Barret?"

"Why you talkin' to me?" Barret snapped, before turning to Cloud.

Harry cut Barret off though. "Take a breather, Cloud." When the others look at him, he clarified, "we can all use a minute or so to... just soak this all in. You look like you can take a break yourself, Cloud."

"... If you want," he said.

Harry got up, and strapped the sword to him again. "I'll be back shortly."

And he left the room.

"I'm going to use the ladies' restroom. Excuse me," Aerith apologized and headed out as well.

"So what took you girls so long to find Harry? Really?"

"Oh, uh... he was at this girl's house," Tifa explained.

"Old girlfriend?"

She shrugs, unsure of the relationship Harry had with that tanned girl.

=0=0=

The aura of magic was just suffocating. The blood of his phoenix was used in the ritual. Three different tomes were open. One on necromancy, one on soul binding, and one on revival. Fawkes' lifeblood was spilt all over the corpse of Harry Potter, his body exhumed from Godric's Hollow. The body of one Neville Longbottom (heavily dosed by force with Draught of Living Death) lay on a second stone slab deep in the basement where the Mirror of Erised was moved into in Harry's first year.

"It must work," murmured the barmy old coot, "only Harry can fulfill the prophecy."

It's just a shame Dumbledore had no soul to actually retrieve. Minerva had taken Harry's soul and gave him a new life in her realm. Instead, Dumbledore made one miscast in translation. Oddly, it created a tear into the fabric of time and space, drawing all not anchored in. Neville, Harry's rotting corpse, the goblets and vases filled with the mutilated organs of Ginerva, the blood of Fawkes (as one spell required the sacrifice of a pure virgin female) and the old man, was drawn in...

...Straight into a dark world version of the underground basement of Hogwarts. Here, Dumbledore was trapped, and the shadows that emerged stare upon the choking old man. The very air of this dark world was toxic. Then, one shadow lashed out with a rotting hand. That invited more to swarm right in. The old man would die, torn asunder, and what remained of his body infested with the dark matter of this dark world. Why it was unknown of where Dementors truly came from (aside many theories), Dumbledore now knew where they came from. Too bad no one will ever know.

* * *

**... Was Dumbledore's death a bit... dull? I don't know myself. Now, someone asked if HP exists. The answer is no: Harry and Hermione revived in the FF7 world. The only magic they have is from Materia use. Can somebody **(or anyone)** guess the minor cameo I used for the last scene? And on this note, I own the character **Zndria Clements**.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Harry Potter's Meteor Crisis**

**Disclaimer & Author's Note:** I do not own Harry Potter, any mentioned Harry Potter characters, and I do not own the characters of Final Fantasy VII or the series themselves. I do own whatever minor OCs that pop up as fillers, and this strange half-altered novelization plotline.

* * *

**CHAPTER NINE**

"Thanks for the new weapon," Barret said to Harry, overlooking his new Cannon Ball weapon with new Earth and Poison Materia. Tifa's gloves were now replaced with the Mythril Claw, armor-plated gloves with mythril-enforced metal claws; also she decided to wear the Star Pendant that was retrieved yesterday from the wrecked remains of the Motor-Ball enemy when they were escaping Midgar. Aerith had a Heal Materia slotted into her Striking Staff, while Harry has a new Earth Materia. Cloud was impressed with the new sword Harry thought he would like. Harry also bought Tent supplies, with several Potions, Antidotes, Tranquilizers, Phoenix Down, Hypers, Ethers, and Eye Drops.

"So, Cloud... why don't you finish the story?" Harry asked as he sat down next to Tifa now.

"Tifa..." Aerith turned towards the young woman, "you were waiting outside then? Outside the Reactor?"

"...... Yes."

Cloud looked around the room. "We returned to Nibelhiem. Sephiroth confined himself at the inn. He didn't even try to talk to me."

"Then all of a sudden he just disappeared, right?"

"We found him inside the biggest building in Nibelhiem."

Tifa nodded slowly. "The villagers used to call it Shinra mansion."

"Long ago, people from Shinra used to live in that building..."

//FLASHBACK RESUME//

The villagers were outside the mansion on that day Sephiroth disappeared. Cloud and the Shinra guard had left the inn, as the villagers were flocking the mansion, but not entering the land lot. So, Cloud decided to go in, the guard remaining to control the town. Cloud entered the mansion and began searching the rooms, but the rooms were empty. He climbed the stairs and entered a hallway where he found the second Shinra guard, the one who drove the truck to the town.

"There's no sign of Sephiroth, but I know I saw him go into this room."

Cloud nodded and walked in. He wasn't in there, just a shelf of books. He looked around, until he saw what looked like holes in a brick wall. Curious, he pulled at it, and found the wall sliding open to an old rickety stairwell. He ran down, soon entering an underground cavern hallway with a few human bones in a corner, and dusty cobwebs and hanging rusty chains. There was a door but it was locked, so he tried the door at the end of the cave way, and entered a lit underground library. Some books were out, with a littered desk, and several green glass-tinted tanks against one wall with pipes and gas tanks. Walking around with a book in his hand, coat hung on the chair, was Sephiroth reading from a tome in his hand.

"...an organism that was apparently dead was found in a 2000 year old geological stratum. Professor Gast named the organism, Jenova..."

His eyes briefly caught Cloud's before he looked back down at the book. He flipped the page. "X Year, X Month, X Day. Jenova confirmed to be an Ancient... X Year, X Month, X Day. Jenova project approved. The use of Mako Reactor 1 approved for use..."

He walked into the small corridor of that room, in complete disbelief. The book soon fell from his hand, as he raised his head to the ceiling. "My mother's name was Jenova. Jenova Project... is this just a coincidence?" His head bowed, eyes closing with tears, "Professor Gast... why didn't you tell me anything? ...Why did you die?"

When Cloud slowly went up to him... "Let me be alone."

Cloud said nothing, but backed away from the man, as his shoulders trembled. Cloud respected the man's wishes and left.

_Over the next few days, Sephiroth read book, after book, after book, after book. And not once did the lights turn off in that library. Sephiroth didn't come out of the Shinra Mansion. He continued to read as if he was possessed by something, and not once, did the light in the basement go out..._

Cloud awoke. He didnt' feel well for some reason. Looking around, the rooms were empty. He got up from the covers and got dressed, for safety reasons clipping his sword on. He had a sudden foreboding, a chill that ripped through him. It was a cause for concern as he left the room through the early morning darkness. He arrived to the mansion. Silence greets him. He ran through the hallways, heading straight towards the hidden pathway and going down. In three minutes he arrived to the library, calling out Sephiroth's name but got no answer. Instead books littered the floor, and then he heard him laugh. It was a laugh that brought another chill down his spine.

Cloud walked up to the main desk Sephiroth sat at. "Who is it!" He bellowed, making Cloud jump.

When the man looked up, he sneered. "Hmph... traitor."

"Traitor?"

Sephiroth got up off the chair as he stormed up to one of the library stacks, and picked out a book and briefly looked in it. "You ignorant traitor. I'll tell you. "

He threw the book aside, fists tightened up. "This planet originally belonged to the Cetra. Cetra was a itinerant race... they would migrate in, settle the planet, then move on. At the end of their harsh, hard journey, they would find the Promised Land and supreme happiness." Sephiroth spun around and glared hatefully at Cloud, "But, those that disliked the journey appeared. Those who stopped their migrations, built shelters, and elected to lead an easier life."

He pointed a shaky finger at Cloud who took a step back. "They took that which the Cetra and the planet had made without giving one whit in return!"

His hand lowered to his side, as he tightened them into fists once more. "Those are your ancestors."

"Sephiroth..."

"Long ago," the man cut in, not caring for Cloud's concern, "disaster struck this planet. Your ancestors escaped... they survived because they hid. The planet was saved by the scarification of the Cetra. After that, your ancestors continued increase of population." He had walked over to one corner of that pocket of the desk room, and then turned his head to the left, eyes boring into Cloud, "Now, all that's left of the Cetra, is in these reports."

"But, what does it have to do with you?" Cloud asked.

"Hmph, don't you get it you fool? An ancient named Jenova was found in the geological stratum 2000 years ago. The Jenova Project... the project wanted to produce people with the powers of the Cetra..."

He looked down the hallway, a sudden realization flashing in his now cold eyes. "... I am the one that was produced.

"Pro-produced?"

"... Yes. Professor Gast, leader of the Jenova Project, produced me."

"How... how did he... Wait! Se... Sephiroth? Where are you going?" Cloud called out to Sephiroth, as he stormed off.

"... I'm going to see mother," he replied in a cold voice, and disappeared.

Cloud stared before he gave chase. By the time he ran out of the mansion, his entire home town was up in flames, casted by a powerful Fire3 spell.

"HEY! IT'S YOU! ARE YOU STILL SANE?"

"Yes I am!" He yelled, running over and getting past the flames.

"Check that house! I'll check this one here!" The Martial Arts Master Zangan jumped into the house he stood by, as Cloud went into the other one, but no one was alive in that house when he ran back out. A cry of pain alerted him, as he looked towards the direction of the mansion and pathway leading to the mountains.

Two men fell dead to Sephiroth. The wizards and witches of Grimmauld flinched seeing the dark cold gaze in the eyes of Sephiroth; the eyes of a madman, a similarity to Voldemort. The flames swirled violently, as he glared at Cloud in the distance. Slowly he turned around, and like the flames of hell, disappeared into them virtually unharmed.

"Sephiroth..."

He gave chase.

=0=0=

The various monsters Cloud encountered were weak, but he disposed of them. It was the powerful monsters that were oddly absent. The Reactor was just in sight, as he rushed up the metal stairs and into the ominous factory. Inside, he saw Tifa beside her father. He was dead, killed by Sephiroth. She was in agony, tears streaming down her face before she picked up the sword before her, and trekked into the hallway. He ran after her but has tripped over a cable in the hallway.

"Mother! I am here! Please, open this door!" Sephiroth called out, in the next room.

"How... how could you do that to papa and all the townspeople?" Tifa yelled at him.

Cloud had ran into the room and yelled at her to stop, but she didn't hear him as she tried to kill Sephiroth, only to have the sword turned on her. She gasped as she fell down the stairs through the air, hitting the bottom steps and slowing to a slump with her hat landing over her chest. Cloud ran up to her as Sephiroth disappeared into the final chamber with his sword reclaimed.

"You... how could you let this happen," she whispered weakly.

He lifted her up and carried her off to a safe corner. "... I'm sorry."

As he rushed up the stairs, he heard a whimper form the girl.

"Shinra... SOLDIER... Sephiroth... I hate them... I hate them all," she whimpered.

Cloud felt his heart ache, but, he steeled himself, and he ran into the final room and confronted the man.

"Mother... mother, let us take back this planet. I've thought of a great idea... let us go to the Promised Land..."

"SEPHIROTH!" He yells.

The room was dark. The only light in the room was reflecting off a metal angel-looking statue attached to the wall. The room was littered with many cables, but a large red cable was snaking up like a pathway to the bottom of the angel's torso. Hazard tanks surrounded the floor like pillars, the gold name plate "JENOVA" spelled across it. He was like a man possessed.

"Look... it's the traitor," he muttered. "Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha... They've come again, mother... you know, with her superior power, knowledge, and magic, Mother was destined to become ruler of this planet."

Sephiroth slowly looked up, as he walked the cable, close to the metal angel. "But they... those worthless creatures, are stealing the planet from Mother." He slowly raised his hands up, nearing it, and caressing the metal face, "But now I'm here with you..."

His eyes widen slightly before grasping the body, and gave it a hard tug. Several cables began to shift and break off, before electricity crackled out when the body finally was removed. The rest of the cables snapped, and the main cables keeping everything shut off has now one by one turned on. Sephiroth threw the coolant-dripping shell aside and gazed upon the now glowing large tank, his dark-looking eyes wide with happiness and a mean smile.

A metal helmet was on the head of the creature within, with bolt studs in the sides. "JENOVA" is written on the name plate. The head and the upper torso were fully human in appearance, but the shadow casted by the helmet, her left eye was a soft crimson. Everything else was mutant-like, multiple appendages and organs grossly out of place. Jenova was completely suspended in the liquid within, several cables in the body pumping unknown contents in and taking contents out.

"But what about MY sadness! My family... friends... the sadness of having my hometown taken away from me!" Cloud screamed, "ANSWER ME, SEPHIROTH!"

"HA! Sadness? What do I have to be sad about? I am the chosen one. I have been chosen to be leader of the planet." He slowly crossed his arms over his chest; sword clutched tightly, "I have orders to take the planet back from you humans... for the Cetra. What am I supposed to be sad about?"

Cloud's gaze slowly went to the ground, a single tear. "Sephiroth... I trusted you..." Then his eyes harden with a glare, as he clutched the Buster Sword in both hands, "NO! You're not the same Sephiroth I used to know!"

He rushed at Sephiroth, as the man turned around. Blades lock in stalemate. Blue eyes glare into harsh Mako green eyes, as the taller sexier man pushed Cloud away with a flick of his weapon. They faced each other off...

...

...

...

...

//END FLASHBACK//

"... That's my story," Cloud concluded.

"Hold da fuck on! Ain't there more?" Barret yelled, not believing it.

"... I don't remember..."

Harry however, turned in the bed, and had now fallen asleep after yawning.

Tifa pulled the blanket over him and took his glasses off his face, putting them on the bedside counter.

"Why don't we head to bed... it's getting late," Tifa suggested.

"Yeah... fine," Barret said, before leaving the room, and heading to the one next door, where he also bunked with Cloud and Harry, who was sleeping in the third bed in the girls' room.

"He's like a cute little brother," Aerith said to Tifa.

"He's asked if I could be his big sister," Tifa said with a smile, as she took off the gloves and other items before climbing into the bed wearing the pyjamas she brought with her. Aerith had a spare loaned to her from Tifa.

"Maybe I could be a big sister to him too..." She then giggled softly, as Tifa yawned.

"Night Aerith."

"Good night, Tifa."

=0=0=

Harry awoke two hours later that night. Everybody was asleep, and there weren't many outside aside late nighters at the few pubs around Kalm. Harry quietly snuck out of the room, down the stairs and out, before quickly making haste through the town. He stopped at a door, and knocked on it. The light in the house was still on, and when the door opened, Zndria stood at the doorway.

"You came back."

"I did promise," he simply replied, as she invited him into her home.

=0=0=

The next day arrived, as Zndria opened her eyes, smelling the scent of breakfast. Getting up and tying her bathrobe shut, she shuffles into her kitchen, where Harry (wearing his pants and undershirt with cooking apron) stood over the stove, having just finished cooking some eggs, bacon, and a small stack of pancakes.

"Oh, good morning, Zndria," Harry greeted the gobsmacked girl, who took a seat at the table.

"You cooked breakfast?"

"Sure. Been awhile since I was able to make food." He chuckles a bit, before walking over, after putting everything on each plate.

"Harry..." after she finished her first bite of a butter and syrup-smothered pancake, "is it true what you told me last night?"

"Every word of it," he said, after swallowing his mouthful.

A bit of silence.

"You are having second thoughts about our one-night stand?" Harry questioned coolly.

"Oh..." She blinked, and then shook her head, "No... No... It's just a bit... a bit weird, really. I mean... sure I have known that Shinra have dealt with darker affairs the general public doesn't know but..."

"Then you know that this is the last time we actually will meet."

She smiled sadly. "But the sex was so good," she sighed, blushing.

"You WERE a virgin... you were complaining a bit at first before you wanted more."

She shot him a hard glare, her blush increasing. "Shut up."

He just laughed.

After finishing breakfast, and cleaning dirty dishes, Harry got fully dressed as did she, before she hugged him by the front door. Waiting out at the front was Cloud and the gang (Red XIII tracked Harry back to the spot when he was discovered missing that morning).

"Don't you dare die out there, Harry," Zndria warned him, "because if you do, I'll find a way to revive you, only to kill you myself, Capiche?"

"Yes, Zndria," he replied.

"Kick some Shinra butt then," she bids, as she stood there, watching her reunited friend once again walk out of her life. She prayed to whatever god was listening, to watch over her friend.

Once they were far enough from Zndria's residence, Barret laughed. "She has you whipped."

And Harry's response was to flip the bird, never mind that his face was lit red and the others were chuckling.

"Okay, enough pestering Harry," spoke Cloud, "we have to leave anyway." He handed Harry a cellphone, "I and Tifa bought these earlier this morning on our way to finding you at your girlfriend's house."

"She's not my girlfriend. Just a friend... nothing much there."

Cloud shrugged. "Some Shinra soldiers are here, but they're plastered at the bar near the Inn. Sephiroth was spotted east of Kalm, and he was traveling the marshes. That's where we'll be going. The trip's going to be rough, but it's the only lead we have on the man."

"So, we're going to split into two groups again?"

"No. Better to stick together," Tifa said, "In the east is a large marshland, home to the Midgar Zolom."

"Should we get a map, just incase?"

"No need," said Harry, as he reached into his large side pocket on the thigh, and pulls out a map of the Midgarian continent, "when I arrived here, I came in from a small port town to the shores south west of Kalm. I got a map there."

"Okay then," Cloud nodded, accepting the map Harry gave him, "east we will travel, taking the clearings by the mountain edge. We'll have to travel a far distance to avoid backtracking to Midgar though. I would take this takes about three days travel if we still had that truck."

"Hm." Harry pondered a bit, before he saw some commotion nearby. It was a man who was throwing some sort of party thing, and there he saw the same truck model that they used to escape Midgar, only this one had a trailer wagon connected to the back.

"Be right back," he said and disappeared into the crowd.

Half an hour later, with Tifa behind the wheel, they were driving out of Kalm. Harry had used his good luck to win the truck prize (despite the man having rigged the entire thing). Aerith rode shotgun in the compartment, while Cloud and Barret rode in the back. Red XIII opted to ride in the trailer's wagon which was filled with some thick hay lofts. Harry stayed there to keep Red company.

"Hey Red... have you heard of Cosmo Canyon, before?" Harry questioned the lupine wolf.

"Yes, I have," he replied.

"Ah... I heard of Cosmo Canyon before... you see... I have adoptive parents who took me in. They lived in this small village called Gongaga. It's a bit of a long travel if you go to Cosmo Canyon, as papa had told me, but worth the visit."

Red nodded, as he lai his head back down. He smiled a bit as Harry scratched behind his ears, before the teen stopped to initiate conversation with Barret who was asking some questions about the girl he was with, Zndria.

_Grandpa,_ thought Nanaki, _I'll be coming back home soon. Just you wait._

=0=0=

She gazed in the mirror, smiling at the new clothes that she received. She liked them more than her old ruined outfit, and it was better than the hand-me down that she got from Lady Tsunade, the old medic.

She wore a type of aqua blue oriental dress. It was similar to a Shenyi, but the dress skirt is split along the sides in a triangular shape, and trimmed with black along the edges with a leather belt tied around the waist. She wore a type of black cloth shorts that fit her figure, and the sleeves of the upper dress clothing ending at her elbows. Along her forearms is fishnet stocking with spiked black bracelets (the arms up to elbow range, and parts of the hand and fingers, under the fishnet wrapped with white tape), and the left forearm is protected by a dark blue and navy-trim arm plate. The footwear she wore consists of flat pointed ankle-high black boots and knee high navy silk socks that stayed secure only because of the rounded dirty silver knee guards. Finally, she walked over to the table, where she picked up a brown cloak. She had shortened the length so that its length ended at her waist, and the buttons were replaced with a sturdy metal chain. She punched gray metal buttons along the bottom rim of the cloak, and the collar was a half-fold turtleneck. Placing it on, she gazed at the mirror once again, and smiled after fixing her hair up so it came as a curly ponytail behind her.

"I look great."

She giggled, before she heard a knock at the door.

"Hermione, it is time to eat."

"I shall be down shortly Zidane," she replied to the person on the other side of the door.

Her smile faded a bit, as she closed her eyes. Lately she's been getting strange dreams. She has talked with Bugenhagen about the dreams, and the old man was a bit shifty on the subject. However, he was smiling, only telling her in riddles that she should follow what her dreams are telling her. Because of the Lifestream, all she can figure out was that there was a reason why she would be having these dreams of her brother, alive and well, but depicted in situations such as drawn-out battles. She wanted to leave Cosmo Canyon, and try and find Harry, but no matter what, she felt as if she had to stay here at the Village Hidden under the Stars.

As she left, one such dream flashed in her eyes.

_"Hermione!" Harry shouted, shoving her to the side. She fell, transfixed in horror as a long sword had impaled him through the stomach, held by a man with long silver hair, and such ruthless and uncaring cat-like green eyes, almost like the color of the Lifestream itself._

She caught herself before she would trip down the stone steps within the hollowed cavern hallway, one hand to her chest, clenched tightly. She shook her head, trembling slightly. That was one dream... one reoccurring thought, which still scared her. What did it all mean?

=0=0=

The truck slowed to a stop in front of a small grove of trees. Nearby was a wide fenced off area. Twenty acres of land which included a small lake, various fruit trees, growing gardens of greens, and two-legged creatures; strange bird-like creatures with yellow feathers, and they make a type of wark-like chirp. These, otherwise, walking stuffed dinners, were known world-wide as Chocobos. They were used for carriage pulling, riding across vast fields at a high rate of speed, and when bred, can produced variations of Chocobo breeds whom have abilities that are limited to such things like climbing the steepest of mountains (rumor says such a Chocobo can walk up a vertical wall of mountain), Chocobos whom can cross water (rumor states that one such Chocobo if bred right can even travel the ocean waters itself), or can even traverse terrain no human could otherwise travel through.

While Tifa and Aerith were looking at the Chocobo, one being friendly with Aerith, Harry had wandered into the open barn while Cloud and Barret entered the house which had an "open door policy." Red however went to the nearby tree and rested under the shade. Harry saw three Chocobo in stables, two asleep, and one currently eating from a loft, when he heard a very interesting noise. It was a moan, and it came from the very back of the barn house. Cursing his slight curious and paranoid-like personality, he investigated. What he saw was a girl and a boy. The boy looked to be older than the girl, and he was sitting in the large hay, the girl on her knees... well, Harry quietly left the barn, not disturbing them. It would take him a minute to clear his mind of seeing two young teenagers... well... having a workout.

"Hey Harry," Aerith walked over, smiling brightly, "have you seen the Chocobos. You just missed it. They did this really cute dance before one of them gave me this red Materia." She showed off the red stone that gave off a gentle glint under the sunlight.

"Oh... I remember... I believe it's called Summoning Materia," he told Aerith, taking the Materia to examine it more. He heard a distinct wark echo from the jewel-like orb, along with a soft pulse of energy. He presses the orb against an empty Materia slot on Aerith's armlet, hearing it go in with a clink-like sound.

"So... where's Barret and Cloud?"

"They went into that house over there to talk with the owner of this Chocobo Ranch," Tifa explained, as she stepped up behind Harry.

"And Red's resting under the tree shade," Harry murmured, spying Red XIII.

"So, anything interesting in the barn?"

The image of the girl giving a blowjob to the boy in the back stable made Harry make up a quick half-assed lie. "Nothing much except two sleeping kids and more Chocobo."

The girls both nod and leave it at that. Like Harry wanted to explain that he stumbled upon two horny young teenagers...

"Yo, the owner of this ranch'll cook up some grub," Barret called to the three.

"Ne?" Harry chirped, right eyebrow arched.

"What Barret meant was that Choco Bill, the guy who owns this ranch, told us how we can cross the marshes," Cloud explained, "vehicles will most likely get stuck in the marshes since it's mostly deep waters. Chocobos have enough speed to traverse the marshes easily and also prevent us from running into the Midgar Zolom."

"Yeah, though those walkin' dinners are fast. Special Materia is needed to even attempt to wrangle up one," Barret spoke up.

"Well. Guess we can stick around for a bit,' Harry said, "No need to go into a haste, especially since we'll be dealing with wild Chocobo."

"Bill said his grandson and daughter are in the barn,' Cloud said, as he began to walk towards the direction.

"No, wait Cloud, I'll go in and talk with Bill's grandkids," he said. Cloud shrugged.

"Sure, kid."

Harry chuckled a bit, before walking off hastily to the barn. When he entered once again, he was grateful that the adulterous activity was done with and the two were tending to the Chocobos in the stable.

"Howdy there," called Billy, "Chloe and I kinda heard you guys."

"Yeah... my friends and I are planning on traveling across the marshes, but most vehicles would not even properly cross, and by foot..." He left it unfinished, as Billy nodded sagely-like.

"True. Goin' on foot would attract the Midgar Zolom. It tracks down anything that enters the marshes by the vibrations in the water. Chocobos are fast enough to outrun the Midgar Zolom, and can get you across in just six hours at the most."

"Yeah... there's also something about special Materia used to even lure in wild Chocobo."

"Chocobo Lures, you mean? Yup, we got some in stock. I can give you one for some Gil."

Harry fished out his wallet from his back pocket, and took out 5,000 Gil. "A little much, but keep the change. I'm just generous that way."

Billy just laughed, accepting the generous thought and payment, handing the teen not one but TWO Chocobo Lures. "Do take care, oh, and you'll need to buy some greens though. Not only to feed them, but it acts like bait. But you should be careful, as some of the monsters that roam the lands outside the ranch tend to mix themselves up with any wild Chocobo. My sis Chloe can sell you some greens."

Harry nodded, shaking Billy's hand. He then walked over to the younger sibling, as she overheard and explained to Harry the different variety of greens that most Chocobos loved. Once buying enough, Harry stored them in the bag Chloe handed him, where the scent of food brought him back outside.

"Something smells great," Harry said, mouth slightly watering. After three days of canned ready-to-eat food and ration packs, a home-cooked meal was something that must be savored.

"So, what happened?" Tifa inquired.

"Two Chocobo Lures. We can split up into two groups, and with an equal share of greens. After we're done eating, we'll go out and try and get us some Chocobos. However, there are monsters that like to pop up near Chocobo track sightings, as the girl Chloe told me in the barn."

=0=0=

"Damn overstuffed walking dinner," Harry muttered. Two hours, and this was his fourth attempt at wrangling him a Chocobo. One ran off because a Muu spooked it by shooting its rear end with a pressured fountain spout, a lunatic ostrich with a drill-like beak killed the second Chocobo before a giant Bird of Prey snatched the carcass, and the third ran off after attacking Harry when he jumped it from behind.

"Trouble?" Cloud mused, walking up to him with another green.

"Let's see you try any better," Harry said, tossing the Chocolure Materia to the young man, who caught the purple orb.

"Alright, then." Twenty minutes later, Cloud got attacked by the same angry Chocobo that attacked Harry, who was now laughing at the blonde. He yelped in pain when the orb struck his head.

"Shut up kid."

Harry just smirked, picking up the orb before he found a Chocobo, but it was surrounded by Mu's. With the restrapped and buckled sword in place, he pulled the sword from its half sheath. He whistled the chocobo chirp, tossing an expensive green food at it. It caught, went off a bit and began eating away. The Mu's all burrowed to the ground before popping up, hitting Harry with painful water blasts. He countered with Serene Blade, thus catching the Chocobo once he hopped onto its back.

"Hey Cloud! Got one!" He yelled as he threw the orb at the blonde who had his mouth hanging open a bit. It smacked him in the head. He hitched the Chocobo off to the direction of the stables in the short distance.

Upon arriving back at the ranch, he stopped it as Tifa looked up. "Wow, you got one."

"Yup. Tricky little things, but I do like riding them. It's been a long while since I last rode a Chocobo." He pulled out a green, and fed the bird, which it happily accepted the offered item.

"Where's Cloud?"

"Too busy getting his butt handed to him by Chocobos," Harry chuckled, "you know... we have one Chocobo, and this bird is big enough to handle three passengers. There's a cave passage at the en do the marshes, but I generally avoided it when I traveled to Midgar. We should split up from here. How about I go ahead and clear a path?"

"Oh no you don't! Not by yourself Harry!" Tifa exclaimed.

"Yeah. I'll go with you, Harry," said Aerith, managing to get up onto the bird and squeeze herself up against Harry's back.

"Ne?"

Tifa scoffed, and hops up behind Aerith. "I'm going too. Hey, Barret, tell Cloud we gone ahead when he returns, okay?"

"Sure, but what 'bout the truck?"

"Sell it to the owner of the ranch," Harry said.

=0=0=

Harry, Tifa, and Aerith rode into a small grove of trees an hour later of crossing the marshes. However there was no giant fire-breathing snake that emerged from the marshes in attempt to chasing/killing them. It was actually a quiet sprint across the marshes.

Harry halted the bird, and the girls got off first before Harry did. He gave it one last bit of green before the bird tilted its head to one side, gave its bird-like war, and sprinted away.

"I wonder where that snake was at," Tifa said.

"Well, count our blessings," Aerith simply stated.

As they walked through the last brush, Harry cocked an eyebrow as he gazed at the tallest tree, at the far end of the short field. Ahead is the mountain, and the entrance to the mined caverns. However what stunned him was what awaited them. The tallest tree in the field had been shorn totally free of limbs and leaves, and sharpened to a point at the top, like the javelin of a giant protruding up from the ground. Thunder clapped loudly, startling the small group who were awake and in the living room. They stared speechlessly up at the enormous serpent, towering high above them. It had answered the question of the missing Midgar Zolom. The creature returned the stare with a cold, lifeless eye as it sat atop the tree. It had been impaled upon the makeshift spike, wound around the tree so it could be impaled in three places: its tail, its midsection, and its head, with the tree thrusted through the bottom of the creature's jaw. The snake's blood had dripped all over from its multiple wounds, staining the surrounding ground in a huge puddle of smelling foulness.

It was Harry who finally broke the silence. "Did... Sephiroth do this?" Harry mumbled, in sheer awe of how big the Midgar Zolem was.

"Amazing..."

"Our enemy... is someone who could do that?"

"Let's keep going... Cloud and the others would probably see it themselves," Tifa spoke up, as they embark on the path, passing the smelling corpse. They had no clue how long it was dead, and they didn't wish to find out.

=0=0=

While it was certainly dark compared to the daylight, the tunnel was nowhere near the blackness of the Mt. Nibel caves. The tunnel had lamps mounted on the walls at fixed locations which casted a warm glow on the cave walls, from what running electricity that ran through the cables. The light from the lamps, in turn, was reflected from the metal in the walls, which shone brilliantly. This brilliance of the Mythril helped to light their way as they made their way through the winding tunnels, deep into the mountain ranges while they picked up discarded items from past workers who worked in the caves.

A series of smaller passages branched off from the main tunnel, but Harry had figured that the largest tunnel would be their best bet for making their way all the way through to the other side of the mountains. They traveled in silence, mostly due to their observing the beautiful reserves of mythril ore all around, but Harry was focused not on the sights, but the sounds. Because there were the sounds of nature in the caves, the few howls of wind that blew through cracks and crevices in certain areas, and then there was the sounds of the few monsters that now take refuge in the mines.

From snakes, to half monster men whom wield medieval iron balls attached to spiked iron chains.

"Shit!" Harry swore as he ducked from getting his head crushed by the thrown ball 'n chain. Tifa and Aerith casted their magic spells on the three mutated men, as Harry rebounds with a swing of his blade, slicing the arm off. They tried to rush him, but they suddenly froze mid-attack. Aerith smiled, having just casted her Limit Break: Seal Evil.

"Let's get going." The trio quickly left that area, heading on down the large path. A couple whom were hiding jumped from their hiding spots, but Harry pushed them all back when he broke out a new Limit Break: High Endurance. It was a raging shockwave of energy that trailed the ground not unlike Cloud's Blade Beam attack. They were disintegrating into fyreflies.

They ran to the end of the hollowed hallway. Shading his eyes and squinting, Harry could eventually discern that the light that had suddenly blinded him was nothing more than daylight streaming through the cave's mouth. The exit to the cave was on a path above them.

"It's the exit," said Harry as he started to climb the short rock wall to the upper ledge. But just as he climbed up to the ledge, the light was all but blocked by a large figure. For a split second, Harry thought it was Sephiroth, having his same size and shape. But it wasn't the god-like man. Not only that this figure lacked Sephiroth's flowing hair, but Harry knew that if Sephiroth were near, he would have already killed them twice over. As he stared at the figure, his eyes continued to adjust to the light, to reveal…

"Oh shit," muttered Harry as the rest of the team joined him on the upper path.

"What is it, Harry?" said Tifa.

"The Turks," said Harry simply. For there stood the large Rude, perfectly looking the part of a bouncer blocking them from passing through the exit.

"Just a second... hmph, so you come... you know me, right?"

"Yeah, you're Rude of the Turks," Harry said.

Rude smiled. "I see, so this won't take long..."

However, he said nothing as he hated making speeches. "SIR!"

All eyes turned to the upper ledge, where a woman with blonde hair stood. "I know how you hate making speeches."

"Fine, you explain it," Rude told her.

"I'm Elena White of the Turks, recently promoted. Well, only because of the injuries Reno suffered, but he's healing up well, and due to THAT, we're short of people. In any case, it's our job to find where Sephiroth is heading to. And to try and stop you every step of the way."

Then she blinked. "Wait a minute... it's the other way around... YOU'RE the ones that are getting in our way."

"Elena?"

Tifa and Aerith turned to look at Harry, as did Rude, and the woman now became silent.

"... Harry," she whispered.

"Wow..." Harry now chuckled, as a smile graced his features, "you... you certainly gone onto better things than the last time I met you."

"Yeah... I have," she replied, slightly surprised that here, she would run into somebody she briefly met a year ago.

Tseng walked in, wondering why it had suddenly become quiet.

"So... you're part of the Turks now," he said.

"Yup," she answered.

"Then I guess congratulations are in order. I'd say we celebrate with a few drinks, but... we're both busy so I'll give you a rain check some other time," Harry said in a half-joking manner.

"So, you both know one another," said Tseng.

"Mr. Tseng?"

"No need to tell them the orders," Tseng said, "and you and... Mr. Potter, can catch up on an off day."

Elena suddenly looked sheepish. "Sorry, sir."

"Anyway, you have a mission to do."

"Right, head to Junon Harbor and find Sephiroth!" She saluted; until she realized her mistake as Tseng face palmed.

"Get going. And don't forget the file report."

The two Turks saluted as they disappeared off into the cavern. Elena was however looking past her shoulder at Harry when she left. Tseng then turned towards the group, just as Cloud, Barret, and Red XIII arrived.

"Tseng," Cloud muttered, pulling his sword out.

"Hm, I'm not here to fight you... Aerith... long time no see."

"Strange, hearing THAT from you," She snapped.

"Oh yes, Reno would like to meet you all again... with a new weapon, once he fully heals. I'll be seeing you." He then went out the cavern.

"What was he doing here?" Cloud asked Harry and the girls.

"They're searching for Sephiroth. He's seemed to be heading towards Junon Harbor."

"Well, I guess we'll head there," Cloud explained, as the group now left the cavern together.

"Yo Barret! I found this Materia back in the cavern. It would work well for your weapon," Harry said, taking out the orb and tossing it to the burly man.

"Long Range? Hell, this will go good."

"Harry... how did you meet Elena?" Aerith questioned the teen.

"Who's Elena?"

"She's part of the Turks," Harry told Cloud, as the blonde now looked at Harry, as did Barret.

"I met her a year ago when I first entered Midgar," Harry spoke up before they said anything, "back then, she was just an ordinary woman working a good ranking pay job at Shinra, Inc. We met when I walked into this bar on Upper Sector 3. It was the only bar that served soft drinks aside alcohol. And... she was my ex-girlfriend."

//FLASHBACK//

Harry walked into the bar; ignoring the looks he got from a Shinra guard for carrying around a sword. He looked around the busy pub. Men watching a boxing match between leading Heavyweight Champion Zed Atherway versus a newcomer for the gold title, who went by the name Little Mac. Friends were sharing drinks, playing darts, or just paling around. Harry walked up to a blonde girl wearing a white skirt and a white vest with black undershirt.

"Mind if I sit here?"

"Free country," she replied. Harry sat down, and ordered for a small basket of fries, chicken fingers, and a large Dr. Pepper with half ice.

The girl looked Harry over, as she swallowed the cherry from her second Martini drink. "So, why do you have a sword, hm?"

"Oh, this old thing? It's useful. I just arrived here to the city about a month ago," said Harry, "the world is a bit of a dangerous place. Few monsters and rouge machina out there."

"Oh, I see," she responds nonchalant, then sighed a bit.

"Something wrong?"

"Oh... just my date, or lack of it. He stood me up, again," she groaned, before calling the bar keep to give her another after downing the small cup.

"That sucks," he scoffed, "sounds like this man of yours is a bi of a prick."

"More like a complete deliberant asshole," she said with a bit of a growl.

Harry's order came up, and he paid the man plus 20 bucks tip. The guy raised an eyebrow, but shrugged. As Harry took a bite into the first bread-battered chicken tender, he looked at the girl who was sipping her refilled drink.

"My name's Harry Potter."

She gazed back at him.

"Elena White."

"So... what do you do for a living?"

"Well... I'm training so that I can join the Turk Organization."

"The Turks?"

"Yeah... at first, I disliked them, because of my sister. She was once part of the Turks, until... until something happened to me. I was captured by a group, before I was rescued by a Turk member. Ever since, I wanted to join, if only to surpass my sister."

"Bit of a good goal," he finally said, "I do hope you actually accomplish your dream."

She smiled a bit. "Thanks, kid. So, what's your story for coming to Midgar?"

"Well... I was traveling. I came here hoping to find a place where I can just settle down and find a good enough job to support myself. A bit exhausting having to worry about any lurking creatures when you camp in the wilderness."

He chuckles a bit, and a small smile lit her face.

//END FLASHBACK//

"We hit it off there. She left her ex when she discovered him with his pants caught down... literally. He was banging a hooker from this brothel at one of the Red Light Districts. I was with her for awhile, and we started dating for awhile. We broke up a month and a half before my incident with Shinra and me being forced to go underground to the slums. We kind of lost contact there..."

He partly ignored the looks he got from the others. "I admit it seems a bit odd, since our ages were a few years apart, but she and I tried to make it work out. We broke up on good terms, though."

The sun was setting in the distance, and they were near a nearby forest. Off in the far distance to their south was a terrain of rock with what looked like a giant egg on top of a spire of stone.

"It's getting late, so we should stop here for the night," said Harry, "I know this area since I once traveled through here. The forests are home to some rather large bird-like beasts, while in the mountain area to our south is a tribe of Hell Riders."

"I'll go an' grab us some firewood then," Barret told the gang as he walked off. Tifa went with him. Cloud stabbed his sword into the ground, as Harry sat down, after he pulled out some sleeping bags from their accessory bag Harry purchased along with tent supplies.

"What do you know much about this Elena person, Harry?" Cloud questioned the teenager.

"Other than the fact that she can kick ass if she's forced into a fight. She's a martial artist, though she's also not bad using weaponry like guns and stuff."

Cloud nods, accepting the answer for now.

* * *

**I have a bit more planned for Zndria; however she won't pop up anytime soon. Maybe until the later chapters, though. For now, what do you think? And minor cameo to the Wii-remake of the old NES classic Punch-Out! It's a bit long, but I was on a rush... hope you enjoyed it, anyway. Now I need to figure out how to impliment Yuffie's introduction in the next chapter.**

**Review please.** :D


	10. Chapter 10

**Harry Potter's Meteor Crisis**

**Disclaimer & Author's Note:** I do not own Harry Potter, any mentioned Harry Potter characters, and I do not own the characters of Final Fantasy VII or the series themselves. I do own whatever minor OCs that pop up as fillers, and this strange half-altered novelization plotline.

* * *

**CHAPTER TEN**

"So, if you came to this continent through Kalm's direction, how do you know these areas?"

"Mostly study," was his response, taking a bite from his beef stew, "the mountains around the marshes are also equally tough if you avoid traveling the marshes using a Chocobo, but not as dangerous as the mountain terrain near Midgar's general area. There are general creatures that aren't tainted by Mako waste, but in this world one can never be too careful."

"Hm... just thinking that it's been a week since this crazy adventure started," Barret stated, "from attempting to fight Shinra to now goin' off finding Sephiroth... just gives me the chills, jus' wondering what's in store fo' us."

"Yeah, well hope you're prepared. It will take us at least three or four weeks to reach Junon just by foot if the map is correct."

"Hey Harry, what's the worse monsters you had to fight off?"

"Giant praying mantis-like monsters, and at one time I fought against a Hippogriff," he replied, "oh, and when I traveled across the sea to reach this continent, the boat I was on got infested with Beach Plugs led by this ugly sea monster. It looked like walking mass of hentai tentacles that came from multiple coral-like appendages around the skull-shaped head. It was really ugly looking, and a tough piece of shit to kill."

"Hentai tentacles?" Barret asked, snickering.

Harry shrugs it off. "I overheard an overrated movie director wanting to create a porno using Malboros before."

Barret laughed it up.

"If you thought that was funny, I heard the man calling his so-called porn Using Malboro to Make a Porno."

Now the others started to laugh at the hilarious title.

"That was funny yet also disgusting, Harry," Tifa told him.

He shrugs, a grin on his face.

=0=0=

The group had gotten some sleep, Cloud suggesting night shifts being placed around them while in dangerous terrain. After a night of rest they resumed their travel, following the map as they head to Junon Harbor. As they traveled through a small wooded area, Harry tensed up. He then brought this blade out and stopped an attack from a rouge machina. Cloud came right up on Harry's right, and the Buster Sword, as Harry released, cleaved the robot in half. More robots emerged from the foliage, their robotic eyes glinting a bright red. One flies towards Tifa but the woman dodged the attack, grapping the arm and flinging it at a quartet. Barret was unloading at them, firing cannon ball-shaped blasts of energy. Red kept his distance, attacking them they released their saw attacks. Cloud and Harry went wild with their swords.

Off in the distance was a small town. A girl had just wandered into the small village-like town. She wore dark beige khaki shorts, a green sleeveless sweater, a pair of hiking sneakers and knee length socks. She wore a type of combat armament over her left arm, and strapped to her back was a large shuriken, with a belt with pocket of kunai and mini shuriken stars. Her dark brown hair was short, fringes just past the ear, and she wore a white headband with two green glow stick-ties sticking out the back. Along her right arm was fishnet stocking with leather fingerless glove and a stitched metal plate over the back of the hand.

"Damn Shinra jerk-offs," she muttered. She encountered a small military army that was enroute to some destination, and she attempted to rob them. They had no Materia on them, and she barely managed to escape getting killed as within their ranks were a few robotic humanoid replicas, and a Grandhorn monster that the Shinra deployed in their guerilla-styled tactics. She didn't know if she was followed, but she took no chances, hiding as soon as she could, and changed into a disguise. Now, under a different outfit, the girl with her hidden ninja weapons walked off to the nearby Inn, only to discover that it was devoid of life. In fact, since she entered, it appeared that there was no life in the small village.

She shrugged it off and found herself a good place to stay, mindful of the collected dust. Night had fallen when Cloud and the gang would stumble upon the quiet and abandoned town. It didn't ease tensions as the moon was full this night, and an odd shade of crimson.

"The moon's color really bugs me," said Barret, as the group walk into the abandoned town.

Harry felt a very cold chill run down his back. On the day of the death of his mother and father he and Hermione were left to live alone as orphans. Also, on this day, the moon was also an unsettling shade of red.

"I have a very bad feeling about this," he whispered.

Off into the distance, the howl of a wolf calls into the night, as Tifa and Aerith jumped when a flock of bats flew into the sky.

"I have a really bad feeling, guys," Harry whispered loudly.

"You tellin' me. It's like a ghost town here," Barret said.

Red's fur bristled, and his tail stiffened.

"I sense something," Red spoke up, alerting the others.

Harry's hand was already grabbing the handle of Gryffindor's Sword.

The ground before Harry suddenly explodes outward, prompting him to jump back as a rotted hand and arm springs form the ground. An inhuman roar echoed, as more of those hands began to emerge from the ground. Then whatever was buried in the dirt began to dig themselves out, crawling out into the night air of the abandoned town. They were rotted human corpses; however they had the inexplicable sign of being doused in Mako. Their bloodless veins stuck out in clear view on their pale skin, glowing an unholy sea green, much like their pasty yellow eyes, pupils glowing green and slit like a cat.

"Holy shit!" Barret cried, as he pulled the trigger and blasted one zombie's head right off, spilling glowing reddish green blood as the corpse collapsed into then dissolved into gelatin-like slime.

Harry's blade swings around, decapitating another Mako-tainted zombie.

"Just what the hell are they? Monsters or demons?"

"Possibly both," Harry muttered.

Across the town, a certain ninja was having her own trouble. Trying to raid the pharmacy for anything good, the zombies burst through the floor paneling and attacked her. Of course, she was nimble to escape and attack whatever came her way.

"Well... Harry... you're alive... I'm very surprised," spoke a voice.

Tifa sent a zombie flying with a well-aimed spell from her Materia. Twinkling eyes glare out from behind half-moon specs.

"I'm so glad... you are... alive..."

A figure seem to materialize out of thin-air itself. From her hidden spot, Yuffie's eyes were as wide as the group, as the person wore purple robes, tattered and ripped. Thinning white hair, accenting the growing baldness, with three bowling ball-holed liver spots shining on the large round scalp. He looked very feeble, and he was trembling a bit all over, but he clutched a long staff made of a reddish violet wood. The top of the wood staff was very gnarled, like a thick knot. It appeared rotted, however, three sharp fangs tightly gripped a dim-lit crystal sphere as clear as glass.

"You are needed to fulfill the prophecy, my boy," he said.

"You..." Harry whispered, as he started to hyperventilate.

//FLASH//

"I am saddened myself, but your sister is indeed alive. But I am afraid your parents were killed. I couldn't come in time."

//FLASH//

"But why... why did this happen to us?" questioned Harry, as Hermione was asleep at his side, him holding her in comfort.

"I cannot tell you who or why this happened," he said, looking at the boy who was five years old, "I apologize, but I cannot burden you with such nightmares," he finishes, patting the child's head, eyes twinkling.

//FLASH//

"You..."

//FLASH//

"The prophecy, dear Harry," he spoke to the child in the Hospital Wing, as he was now thirteen years old, "it was because of a prophecy. I fear that my old student abused the ways we taught here at the school when it came to the magic and its life-force form the planet. It give and give back in equal shares, however... he dabbed into darker aspects with the use of mythical Materia."

He then held his hand against the teen's forehead, as Harry tried to speak, but his voice died in his throat.

"However... in doing so, my former student has allowed me a chance to cement myself as a true god amongst our people, on this island. You on the other hand, when you wake up, will only remember that I am helping you..."

//FLASH//

"YOU!" Harry shouted angrily.

_"It's for the greater good,"_ Dumbledore's voice echoed in his mind.

"You're the one that did it! You're the one that ruined our lives! Ruined mine! Turned the island nation against me!"

The old man sighed. "Harry, my dear special boy... it was all in the prophecy: _The one born as the seventh month died shall be cohered as the Savior of Gaia. He, born with a greater power, rise as our protector, to defeat the Dark One_. It was a prophecy made by Silby after all. However in order to have you loyal to me, I had to tip the balance. That meaning, you had to become an orphan."

"YOU BASTARD!" Harry shouted, rushing the old man, but with a wave of his wooden staff, and Harry was sent flying and he crashed into the tree the ninja girl was hiding up above.

"Harry... it would seem that my mind block I placed on you broke... I wish I didn't have to do it again, but you leave me no choice... your friends unfortunately must die... only so that their blood can resurrect my dead student, and then... I can kill you both. Only then... shall I attain godhood."

"He's a psycho," Tifa muttered, even as the zombies had stopped attacking them, but surrounded the old mad man like a following army.

In the chaotic realm, the other Dumbledore coughed, as he re-filters the Bubblehead Charm. He was clinging to life... only because of his Horcrux he created killing Miss Weasley. The eroding darkness was festering inside him, where his shredded soul once was. Wandering was all he did, trying to escape this darkness. Ever since his soul was shredded by those demon Dementors.

_"Harry... it would seem that my mind block I placed on you broke... I wish I didn't have to do it again, but you leave me no choice... your friends unfortunately must die... only so that their blood can resurrect my dead student, and then... I can kill you both. Only then... shall I attain godhood."_

"Harry?" the old man mumbled, looking up. He saw something at the end, a reddish glow.

He stumbled on his ripped robes... and fell...

The moon shined its unholy red glow, as the old man silently beckoned his Mako Zombies to feast upon them. The group converged, moving to Harry as they made a shield around him.

"Shit, now what do we do, Cloud?" Barret yelled at the ex-SOLDIER.

"Fight... and hope we stay alive," he muttered, clutching the handle tighter.

As the zombies move into a sprint, a large shuriken rips through as the slice the air, filling the air with glowing blood. It retraces back to the tree above, only for a petite figure to drop down, and snatch the weapon out of mid-air.

"I saw enough... you must be part of Shinra, huh?"

"Shinra? No, silly girl," the man whispered, "in fact... in order for humanity to survive, I must become a god... I can only do that when my puppet Harry dies, along with his sister once I find her. That is, after I use my dark magical powers, and this Materia..." he holds up the staff, "to resurrect my dead student Tom. Once Harry kills him like the prophecy states, then I kill him... then I can show the rest of humanity that in order to live and find their salvation... they will submit their will to me as their god and savior."

"That's just sick, and twisted!"

"Just stay silent little girl," he issues, waving his staff, only for a black portal to rip open, and a figure collapses right out.

From her spot within the planet, Minerva felt the rip in the fabric of time split at the seams briefly, before it closed.

_What was that?_

Back at the abandoned town, Harry was getting up, grunting at the pain he felt getting smashed suddenly into a hard tree. The figure was Dumbledore from Harry's old life, however, being filled with so much darkness; it was like ooze as this Dumbledore had splattered like black spores before it was absorbed into the body of the other Dumbledore. Two different lives merged together very painfully. The ninja girl saw this chance, and flung her shuriken. Clearly this man was delusional, she thought, as her weapon hit its mark...

SHINK! SPLAT!

It made her convulse a bit as she fought back the bile that rose in her throat. Her weapon... stuck in the neck of the old man, who chuckled as he rips it out and throws it back. She avoided it, as Cloud blocked it with the Mythril Saber.

"Dear girl... you shouldn't have done that," the old man whispered, fighting against the malevolent foreign presence that was attempting to anchor itself to him. Dumbledore's Horcrux was fighting to anchor itself to Dumbledore's living soul. He convulsed and twitched, as he released a powerful red beam of light from the staff. The girl jumped and dodged the attack. The others dodged as well, Cloud yanking Harry out of harms way.

"Dumbledore... it's his fault... my life was ruined... he ruined my life... ruined my sister's life..."

"I need you Harry... I can become a god," he twitched.

_No... I need him,_ said the other him.

"I can raise our home back form the oceans... I can become a god with your death after you fulfill the prophecy."

"Fuck you!" Harry shouted, grabbing the four-point shuriken, and flung it withal his might. It was deflected but Harry rushed Dumbledore, who still twitched. He was blasted back as an aura of black and white surrounded him.

_Leave my weapon alone... he is my weapon,_ said the other him.

"Begone, foul spirit," Dumbledore whispered, tapping into the power that seemed to emanate from the crystal sphere. The other Dumbledore cried out in pain. An unholy shriek filled the skies as the power destroys the Horcrux trying to steal Dumbledore's life-force. With that, the other Dumbledore truly ceased to exist. The old feeble man collapsed, panting in pain, as blood dripped from his mouth.

Harry rushed him again, killing more zombies. Joining him was the ninja girl, with her kunai in both hand. Harry and the girl looked at one another for a brief moment, before the two leapt into the air. She flung her kunai at Dumbledore who had the reaction time to deflect them. However, he cried out in pain as Harry got through fast enough to cut his staff hand off, and the staff in half. The Materia fell to the ground. Dumbledore cried out in horror before getting kicked away.

As Cloud and the gang fought against the remaining zombie army, Harry picked up the giant Materia. "This... is your godhood? Because of some prophecy made, my life was ruined... my sister's life was ruined!"

He glared hard at the ma, who tried to release a purple jet of light, but Harry threw the Materia in the way. Dumbledore's eyes widen. He threw every ounce of his power into that magic attack. He destroyed the one thing that would have been used to resurrect his old student to be used as the scapegoat for Harry to kill. As it splintered into a mist of glittering shards, the remaining zombies suddenly collapse, and dissolve away.

"NO! My... my weapon," he wailed. Then Harry gave the old man a kick to the face.

"You... you... can go to hell!" He swung the sword.

A wet sound was heard, as the blade was stained red. The head of Dumbledore falls from the body, the eyes wide with shock. With a shout, he kicks the head away, and it flies, landing into the river that ran through the outskirts of the village. The body remained there collapsed, blood pouring from the neck.

"Fira," he whispered. A brilliant flash of fire erupts, and it burns the body away.

He felt a hand on his shoulder, and he looked back to see the face of the girl.

"Who the hell was that freak?"

"Someone who apparently fucked up my life since I was born," he responded. The moon lost its red glow, and the fire continues to burn, eating away at the dead flesh of the old man.

"Who... who are you guys?"

Harry looked at the girl as he turned around to face her.

"We're facing off against Shinra. I don't think you may have heard of them, have you?"

"Of course I heard of them. So... you oppose them?"

"We all do. In a way... but now, we're chasing after them, and also finding a man whom my friend Cloud has a score to settle with."

"Hm... I'm Yuffie... the reason I asked that question is because Shinra nearly destroyed my country of Wutai during the war. They bring nothing but bad luck and destroy lives."

"Why don't you join us... it would do good to have someone who would gladly fight alongside us against Shinra. Inc," Harry whispered, as his eyes trail back at the burning remains of Dumbledore, a wise old man he once trusted.

"Only if you tell me everything that's going on," she responds.

And so, while Aerith tented to their sustained wounds (what little they had), Harry for the group began to tell the girl who introduced herself as Yuffie Kisaragi what they have done and the fights they held against the Shinra Company. Yuffie in return told them what Shinra in the long run was doing, and how she was fighting against them, and how she was hiding her incase Shinra sent any of their super soldiers after her when she tried to stop a group of Shinra soldiers whom had monsters and techno-soldiers in their ranks.

As the fire died away, Harry put into vote about Yuffie. In the end, they all decided it was better to get the hell out of the abandoned village. She decided she would travel with the group as she was going to head to Junon herself. In truth, she really wanted their Materia, but thought better of it and left it alone... for now.

=0=0=

Now they were getting through some thick bushels of trees, when Harry looked up after wiping the last spot of blood off his blade (they had accidentally run across a group of Hell Riders hunting the forests, and they decided to hunt them).

"Look!"

"So, that's Junon Harbor," Red said.

"Well, what are we waiting for?"

Cloud led the group, with new comrade Yuffie Kisaragi, onward, their destination within reach. As for Harry, the night two days ago where another part of his past surfaced, was dead. However, he now only wanted to find his sister even more... and hoped she was still alive...

=0=0=

Hermione looked out the window of her room.

_Harry,_ she whispered in thought.

=0=0=

The party had arrived to Junon Harbor in two hours. Now, the small town was like the slums of Midgar, but high above was a large metal city. The houses were all crudely built, but supported with strong wood and metal iron rods. Off in the distance was a large metal gate guarded by a single Shinra rookie.

"So, this is Junon Harbor, huh?"

"This town so run-down... I wonder what happened."

"Who knows?"

Harry decided to head down a pathway when he heard a shrill whistling sound. There near the water was a little girl with a shell-shaped whistle wearing a bikini with mini dress skirt, and sandals. Unlike the town behind him where the others were at, the beachside was surprisingly crystal clear.

"He-y! Mr. Dolphin!" She yelled. A dolphin from the ocean moved up to the little girl, clicking, "Hello, my name is Pri-scil-la!"

"Harry, what's up?" Harry noticed his friends were behind him now, "is that a dolphin?"

"They say that dolphins are supposed to be very smart. Even though they are incapable of human speech, they can understand us very well," Harry explained as he walked gently up to the little girl.

She then turned around hearing Harry's voice, and backed up a bit. "Uh, who are you guys? Are you Shinra members?"

"Wha? Heck no kid," Barret said.

Cloud began to explain who they were, telling a quick story to her, at the end she crossed her arms. "I don't believe you. Liars."

"Great..." Cloud muttered.

"Holy shit, what the hell is that!?" Harry yelled, pointing at a mutant serpent monster that was flying through the air. It was mainly blue, with sea green scales, and the end portion of its tail was all bone material. Two long whiskers flared from the large snap turtle beak. Basically, it was a serpentine body with the head of a fish and beak of a snap dragon turtle. Priscilla ran after the dolphin yelling for it to be careful, but the monster attacked her, thus knocking her out and she fell into the deep end of the beach water. Harry cursed as he ran to rescue her. However the monster swatted him with its tail, and he was sent flying into Yuffie, Red XIII, and Aerith.

"Damn! We have to get rid of this thing and save the girl," Cloud shouted, as he, Barret, and Tifa prepared themselves. The monster roared at them as it unleashed a blast of blue energy. It formed a bubble which was slowly cutting off Cloud's oxygen.

"Crap!" Barret went to shoot the bubble but surprisingly they were reflected or absorbed. Suddenly a bolt of lightning struck the Bottomswell monster, but also destroyed the bubble, freeing Cloud. Aerith smiled, having used her Lightning Materia. A sword flew and struck the monster's head, before Harry rushed forward, jumped, and gripping his weapon slashed down. It shrieked and slapped the teen away.

"Yo! I'm over here, shithead!" Harry yelled, catching its attention despite the pain. He grinned as it began to follow him, allowing Tifa to swim out and dive. She resurfaced swimming back to shore with Priscilla, who was out cold.

Harry meanwhile was evading the tail strikes, when Yuffie threw her 4-Point Shuriken. It sliced around the enemy and she caught the weapon. Red glowed before he jumped it, a green aura flaring around the fire lion. The Bottomswell roared before diving down, trying to bite anything it caught. Harry however threw his sword and it pierced the inside of its throat. Blood poured out as he used Matra Magic, firing several missiles conjured from the magic of the Materia into the head. As a last resort, its dying screech generated a powerful tsunami that washed over the entire beach. It then promptly blew up, showering him in blue blood.

"Ew..." The headless corpse disintegrated, as he quickly washed himself in the beach water, and also his blade before strapping it back on. "Oh shit! Is she alright?" Harry yelled as he ran over to his friends.

"Priscilla!" An old man ran down the stairs and up to the little girl. "Oh, Priscilla... she's not breathing," he said, checking her vitals.

"Move it!" Harry pushed Cloud and Barret aside as he fell to his knees, unstrapped the weapon off his back, and administered CPR. The rest of the group watched as he began pushing air from his lungs into the girl, and then pumping her chest trying to jumpstart her body. The old man stood beside him, as Harry tried to get her to breathe. Tifa held her breath, watching Harry save the girl. The others remained silent.

"C'mon damn it," he muttered, "Breathe damn you." He gave her another deep exhaling breath before pumping her chest three more times. She finally coughed up phlegm and water, choking and expelling the water in her lungs.

"Hey hey! Priscilla, are you alright?" She said nothing, except moan, before the old man went over, picked her and carried her back to the town.

"Wow quick thinking there, Harry," Aerith spoke up, smiling.

"Saved her life," Yuffie said.

He nodded sheepishly as he stood up. "She'll be fine now."

"Thanks to you," Cloud told him. Barret swung an arm around Harry laughing heartily.

As they walked back up the steps, an old woman spotted them. "Hey, please follow me to the inn. I heard how you rescued Priscilla."

=0=0=

"That reminds me..." The voice returned to him now, echoing as it had before. Cloud recognized it as he looked up. But all he could see was fog. And no matter how hard he tried, he could not remember where it was that he recognized the voice from.

"You again..." the mercenary was surprised to hear his own voice echo. His frustration mounted, "I shouldn't be having dreams! Aerith is-"

"Not as powerful as some," the voice replied in amusement. Cloud could now tell that the voice was a male voice. He had never noticed that before.

"Who are you?" Cloud demanded.

"You'll find out soon," the voice promised calmly, "But more importantly. Five years ago..."

Cloud frowned. "Five years ago? ... Nibelhiem..."

"When you went to Mt. Nibel, Tifa was your guide, was she?"

"Yeah," Cloud nodded, looking around through the fog, "I was surprised, when I found out myself."

"But... where was Tifa other than that?" the voice demanded, though it sounded like it knew, "do you remember where she was all those other times? Cloud?"

Cloud thought about it, but couldn't see where this could be leading. "I... I dunno."

"It was a great chance for you two to see each other again."

"You're right," Cloud agreed softly, wondering why he couldn't remember.

"So then, why couldn't you see each other alone?" the voice asked tauntingly.

"I don't know," Cloud snapped, irritable and resentful, "I can't remember clearly."

"Why don't you try asking Tifa?" the voice challenged him. Cloud wasn't afraid of accepting that dare. He nodded a yes. And then he could almost sense the owner of that voice smile in triumph, "Well then... wake up, Cloud..."

=0=0=

"Wake up, Cloud," Tifa quietly shook the mercenary's shoulders. She stopped only when she saw his eyes snap open. She sat down beside him as he sat up and stared at her, "You were having a nightmare."

Cloud quickly glanced around. Everyone else seemed to be awake, as no one else was in the room. Outside the window, the sun could not be seen due to the plate overhead. But on a dresser by his bed, fresh clothes sat folded up and were awaiting him. Tifa saw him glance at them, and her face darkened to a deep red. She turned away and stood up. "I'll just... wait for you outside."

"Tifa," he reached towards her and caught her wrist. She glanced back at him in surprise, and now he was the one who was blushing. He let go of her and looked away, "When Sephiroth and I went to Nibelhiem... where were you, Tifa?"

Tifa turned towards him in surprise, her breath catching in her throat as her heart raced even faster. "We saw each other, right, Cloud?"

Cloud looked back up at her, a shrug given. "I mean... I mean all the other times when we weren't doing anything... but waiting. Where were you? What were you doing?"

She stared at him, thinking the question over in her mind; silently thinking about the answer. She looked away from Cloud after awhile of thinking.

"I hit my head really hard five years ago, Cloud. So much is so hard to remember. And... I just don't..."

Tears stung in her eyes again.

"I just don't remember clearly."

Cloud's hand fell to rest on her shoulder. Tifa turned towards him in surprise, finding him standing at her side with a bed sheet wrapped around his waist. She glanced up at him, into his glowing eyes that stared down with understanding. Memories... Memories were the guide for the soul. It was to be clear and consent, able to be remembered, instead of torn, twisted, and forgotten in a dark fog.

"It... it hurts..."

"I know... it hurts me, as well."

* * *

**A bit... weird... but... next chapter... Harry temporarily joins Shinra... though it wasn't by his choice.** :P


	11. Chapter 11

**Harry Potter's Meteor Crisis**

**Disclaimer & Author's Note:** I do not own Harry Potter, any mentioned Harry Potter characters, and I do not own the characters of Final Fantasy VII or the series themselves. I do own whatever minor OCs that pop up as fillers, and this strange half-altered novelization plotline.

* * *

**CHAPTER ELEVEN**

Harry knocked on the door. It swung open, and the little girl from the other day walked out.

"Hey there, are you feeling okay?"

She nodded a bit shyly.

Harry rejoined the others, just as Tifa, and soon Cloud reunited with them. "Wonder what the music is all about... giving me a headache."

"Same here," Yuffie said, wincing at the lively music at the city above their heads.

Priscilla was holding a red orb in her hands, as she tugged on Harry's shirt. "Hey, I'm sorry I mistook you for Shinra people... here, I got you something." She handed Harry a red Materia.

"What is that music? It sounds lively," Tifa said.

"Oh, from what I heard, it's a rehearsal reception of the new Shinra president," Priscilla explained.

"Rufus!? Oh, I now gotta pay my respects to him," Barret growled, wanting to in truth blast holes in the young aristocrat.

"Grandpa and grandma told me this beach was just beautiful when they were small... but ever since they built that big city above the water got polluted and the sun stopped shining... I grew up hating the Shinra because they ruined the water life around here."

"So, how are we going to get up there? I really doubt that guard would take kindly to us just waltzing up and demanding to be let in."

"Oh, well, I bet Mr. Dolphin could get up there. He can jump high enough. But... I think only two of you can go considering weight limit." Suddenly, all eyes were on Harry, who had finished slotting Shiva into his sword slot.

"What?" He asked, after he noticed they were looking at him.

"Get up to the city above and sneak in," Cloud said bluntly.

"WHAT!?"

"You're light enough. So you're going up there. We'll join you once you get there," Cloud said.

"But... but do I really have to? YOU were the one from SOLDIER!" Harry argued with Cloud, but the group wandered off, leaving him alone in the middle of the small town, "HEY!"

If it was an anime, Harry's face would have looked something like this: ¯3¯

"Fuck..." Harry muttered a curse, as Tifa now held his blade with her, which Shiva was now attached to.

"HEY! Follow me," Priscilla said. Harry shrugged and followed the girl to the beach, where she called the dolphin over.

"Now, just swim out there close, and then he'll go under at the sound of the whistle and get you to where you need to go. But make sure you stay away from the tower... see that electricity? It'll be safe but get near it and you could get shocked."

"Alright... aiming for that bar up there then..." He unhooked his PHS and gave it to her, "can you give that to Cloud please? He's the spiky blonde with the large sword."

"Sure." She handed him the whistle as he swam out, careful not to get near the tower where electricity ran through. At the whistle, the dolphin went to him, and flipped him high into the air; he landed on the bar but caught himself before he could fall over.

"I am going to hate this job," he said as he went over and started climbing upward to the airport above.

Once he arrived, he was in complete awe at the giant flying airship parked there on the runway. In the background people were talking through the communication, between the control tower and the large airship.

Harry climbed over and ran across the airport braving the whistling blowing wind. He accessed the large loading ramp and went to the lower level before running into a building; all the while the lively welcoming music for Rufus Shinra grew louder and louder. Upon arriving, three soldiers in Shinra uniform ran out and out another door, chanting that the president was arriving, one saying to hurry up.

Harry followed the, looking out seeing the liveliness that filled the upper streets.

"Hey you! Why aren't you in uniform?" Harry jumped at the sound, before a man in red uniform marched to him.

"Uh, I just arrived, sir."

He sighed. "Come here." Harry followed the man. Five minutes of wandering the building, they arrived in the male locker room.

"Get to your locker and change now. Today's the big day when we welcome President Rufus!" He walked over, and found a locker that was left open. It contained a spare Shinra uniform, and clothes. Thinking quickly, he swiped the uniform and entered the changing room adjacent to the locker.

_Sheesh, I can't believe I was elected to do this, _Harry pouted mentally.

"Hurry up soldier," the guy said by the door. Harry wanted to give the man the bird, but held back.

_Man, I've only been here five minutes and I already hate this uniform,_ Harry thought bitterly, _a bit tight around the crotch._

Picking up the stand issued gun, he marched out, and the guard smiled.

"Good soldier, looking well."

"Yes sir, thanks," Harry replied.

A nod. "Alright. You remember the Greeting procedure, right!?"

"Uhh..." Harry sweatdropped.

The guard palm faced. "Alright... just watch how I do it."

"We'll help too sir!" Two guards stormed in. The captain nodded, and Harry watched as the two guards showed what Harry had to do, while the guard was singing the greeting words for Rufus Shinra.

"Now, you got all that?" The captain asked five minutes later.

Harry nodded. _Note to self: Kick Cloud's ass._

"Good, keep it up at the real performance," the man said.

"Sir! Preparation complete." The guards stormed out, and Harry followed with the captain after him.

"Don't disgrace yourselves!" The captain yelled slamming the door shut.

=0=0=

The scene of the upper city of Junon was filled with people crowding the sidewalks. From windows, civilians cheered and welcomed Rufus Shinra. "Begin the Welcoming Parade!" One soldier yelled, and everyone fell into formation.

The helicopter in the air flew down its course, as soldiers marched behind it. Rufus was in a car waving politely to the people cheering for him and giving praise to the Shinra army. Heidegger chuckled and laughed every once and awhile as he led the parade, two First Class SOLDIER's in front of the slow-moving vehicle to guard Rufus Shinra. Behind were the fanfare played by the soldiers, and of course the other lively music blaring across all the speakers of the upper city. Rufus blinked as a young lady threw him a beautiful red rose from the crowd. The guy gave the woman a flirty wink, which caused her to faint in happiness. The young blonde chuckled to himself as he tossed the rose in the garbage bin in the rear end of the vehicle.

Outside, Harry, the two soldiers, and his (for-now) commanding officer marched down the large empty street way, heading off towards the Welcoming Parade. Harry took note of his surroundings, his eyes particular locked onto one impressively large cannon that was part of the harbor's defense. Along with the airport runways behind him, the town underneath was completely overshadowed. However, Harry and the other two guards and captain; they arrived too late.

"Oh shit! We're late. Everyone's gone!" The captain cursed, blaming Harry "the rookie" for running around unprepared before the first unnamed soldier found a shortcut. The captain grinned and ordered the group to hurry the hell up. Rude paid no attention as he headed towards the bar for a hard game of Ro-Sham-Bo.

=0=0=

Harry and the two soldiers followed their captain through the back alleyways, until they managed to make it to the center, where the parade was marching right up. They hid back out of the view of the cameras.

"Alright rookie, I'll go first and show you. Do as I do!" The guard before him shouted, before he fell into marching formation, snuck out of the camera's view, and ended up behind one incomplete rank, completing it and toting with the rest of the group.

"Now listen soldier, this parade's aired live on Shinra TV, and across the world. Don't fuck this up!" the captain told Harry.

"Yes sir," he responded.

The second guard went next, completing a second incomplete rank. Harry went up, and waited until he saw a chance. Then he went for in, sneaking in the back out of the camera view, and marched perfectly in sync with the rest of his rank. The captain grinned as he disappeared to rejoin the rookie at the end of the parade.

Elsewhere, a group of workers that worked for Shinra LIVE were watching the ratings that aired all over Midgar, and in other places world-wide. One man who was watching the cameras leaned back, impressed as he saw Harry fall in line. Of course, his superior officer came over and asked if everything was going smoothly. He responds positively.

_If my boss saw the incomplete ranks, he'd have my ass,_ the man thought.

The march went on until it ended in a big huzzah. At this time, Cloud and the rest of the gang successfully snuck into the upper city of Junon. Harry arrived, panting as the captain congratulated him, giving him a check of 5,000 Gil as a reward by the Director when he found out.

"We made it, now stay quiet and line up." He went into the back as Harry stood at attention with the rest of the small army.

Heidegger bowed to Rufus, who just swept the locks from his face. "How's the job? The airship, is it ready?"

"The long range airship is still being prepared," Heidegger responded with a laugh, "Would take atleast three days."

"And the Air Force's Gelnika?"

Heidegger's response: a horse-like laugh. "... Gya haa haa!"

Rufus growled and marched up to Heidegger's face. "Shut it with that stupid horse laugh! Things were far different than father when he was in charge."

He walked away as Heidegger slowly, but surely stopped his laugh. "Gya..." Harry snickered at Heidegger.

"Is the ship ready?"

Heidegger nodded franticly. "Yes sir, we'll get it ready quickly."

"Good..."

He walked into the transport, up the ladder and inside, as it slowly started up. Everyone scrambled as Heidegger punched Harry in the chest several times before storming and barely getting in before the door slammed shut, and slowly began to rise up and out of the view. Harry felt the blows, but kept the act of a toughen soldier on.

"Man, what a disaster..."

"Heidegger was really irritated..."

"The man in the Black Cape's been roaming the city but we can't find him."

"He's already killed a few of our men when he showed up two or three days ago. Rumor says it was Sephiroth."

"Sephiroth... I heard a rumor he's taken out a nest of Midgar Zolem when they said he crossed the marshes about a week ago," Harry said.

"Midgar Zolem!? Unreal!" One of them said. The second captain leading the orchestra cut through the line.

"Alright everyone, you're dismissed. You soldier, are to be part of the group of the Sending off Formation."

"Yes sir!" Everyone went off, but Harry was dragged back to the changing rooms without question by his other superior officer.

=0=0=

Elena blinked as she felt a hand on her shoulder. It was Tseng.

"You seem a bit down ever since we arrived here to Junon."

"Sorry... just... stuff's on my mind, sir."

"It's about the Potter boy, isn't it?"

"Sorry sir."

He shook his head. "I'm just surprised a bit the two of you has previous relations."

"Yes sir... he was... uh... he's my ex-boyfriend."

"An ex, huh? Well just remember your training, Elena. He's with ALAVANCHE, so that makes him the enemy. Don't let your previous relationship with him hold you back or hinder you, understood?"

"Yes, sir," she responds with a lazy salute. Tseng smiled warmly and walked off, leaving Elena with new thoughts.

_He's right... Harry may be a former friend and lover, but he's with AVALANCHE now..._

=0=0=

"Now, this is the military, soldier, so your orders for today are to send off President Rufus at the dock."

The last two soldiers from before stormed in, volunteering to help. Harry grimaced behind the helmet as he watched first, and then practiced with them. Two more times before Harry got the hang of it, and they were dismissed after Harry thought up of a cool Finisher move.

"Meet at the dock in twenty minutes!"

"Yes sir!"

Now free, Harry went around to the shops to check out the areas; while unaware his friends had gotten into Shinra uniforms and ship crew costumes. Of course, all he found were items laying around he nicked, which were Mind, Luck, Power, Guard, and Speed Sources, and an Enemy Skill when he stumbled upon a house that had a group of muscle men inside it. He found that the Sources were in pill form, chewable without food or water. He also visited a weapons shop, where, with the use of a large drawstring bag, purchased several items, potions, antidotes, and other things, while also getting himself three Grenades. From there, the Materia store he found, he purchased several Materia that would be useful in the long run.

"Hope Harry is alright," Aerith said, still trying to get used to her Shinra uniform.

"Man, stupid Cloud... stupid Shinra," Harry mumbled as he walked out of the store, only to see Barret in a large sailor's uniform.

"... Barret?"

The team looked at the soldier staring at them, before Harry went up to them.

"About time you guys got here. WHERE THE HELL WERE YOU!?"

"Shut up kid!" Barret hushed the teen after Harry quickly flashed off his familiar face and green eyes, "we had to sneak in using the locked-down elevator. We're going to sneak up on the boat."

"..." Harry's anger tick disappeared. He was though still irritated at having to go through the whole army procedure, "glad you actually got up here..."

"What's with the bag?" Barret asked the teen.

"Oh, I purchased some things you guys would like." He opened the bag revealing the treasure he found/bought at different stores. He handed out the items, Materia switched around a bit, and Yuffie giddy when Harry gave her some Materia, and a new weapon. After everything was assembled, and Harry also producing out Shinra Betas he snagged from the muscle guys when they weren't looking...

"Oh yeah, I forgot." He then after finding Cloud in a Shinra uniform standing beside Yuffie in was in a female sailor uniform gave him a swift kick in the ass.

"What the hell was that for?" Cloud snapped, rubbing his sore rear.

He brought his right hand up, and the snap of his fingers pointed off towards the direction that leads to the boating docks. "March your ass onto that ship. I'm stuck sending off that blonde white-dressed prick," Harry mumbled as he walked off, "Hurry up so you can get past security! The boat leaves in twenty minutes!"

=0=0=

While the group was now on the boat safely, Harry was joined by other soldiers there for the send-off, and his superior officer. Twenty minutes later, Rufus Shinra and Heidegger arrived.

Red XIII slowly peeked out, to keep an eye on Harry for Cloud and the others, watching the teenager mimic the sending off formation with the rest of the guards. Rufus was impressed, very impressed. After the Finisher move was performed, Rufus applauded.

"Excellent. Who thought that up?"

Harry nervously stepped up. "I did, sir."

Rufus went over and smiled. "Here you go. Take it."

Harry had his weapon strap over his left shoulder, while he was holding up the Force Stealer blade over his right, gripped in the right hand.

"Thank you, President Rufus, sir," Harry said.

He smiled, before looking back at Heidegger. "Once Sephiroth's arrival is heard, Cloud and his friends would no doubt show up."

"We'll squash those punks," Heidegger laughed. Rufus said nothing and headed into the ship.

Once Rufus vanished after telling Heidegger to stop his stupid horse laugh, Heidegger used Harry yet again as a minor punching bag before vanishing into the boat. The send off team was dismissed and Harry stormed into the ship when no one was left on the docks. Of course before the ship's back door sealed shut completely, the weapon, which was impressive, was thrown overboard. He was wondering about Hojo's disappearance, and the thing of Heidegger taking care of the investigation, but it didn't matter much to him.

"All doors sealed!" one sailor shouted.

"Okay everybody! Get to your positions and get to work. We're setting sail for Costa del Sol port!"

"Aye, captain!"

=0=0=

The boat soon was sailing slowly away from Junon Harbor, and crossing the ocean. The Midgarian continent was disappearing into the distance, as the sun in the distance was creating a beautiful sunset. However so, things were going to heat up.

Harry sighed as he dropped his weapon into his bunk room he was assigned to, and left into the cargo hold.

"There you are," Cloud said as the ship began to sail off towards the destination Costa del Sol, "thought you wouldn't get on in time."

Harry blinked, and then growled. "Shut up, I'm still mad at you for forcing me into this."

He shrugged. "Now you know what the army was like when I first joined."

Harry growled. "Fine, where are the others?"

"Yuffie got sick because the ship doesn't agree with her mind. Aerith is in the back. Tifa and Red are on deck, but Barret disappeared somewhere."

"Hope he's not making a fool of himself," Harry muttered, "better keep an eye on our weapons."

"Yes sir," Cloud mock-saluted. Harry shook his head as he found Yuffie looking a bit green.

"Harry? Ugh... I hate ships," she moaned.

"Sorry you feel that way. Anything I can do for you?"

She groaned. "Got a Tranquilizer?"

He reached into his pocket and produced a Tranquilizer potion which was shaped like a dart, and handed it to her. She snapped the dull glass point off and drank the contents out of the hollow shell casing, but then shivered. "Gross, tastes bitter... I feel a bit better now. Thank you Har-" She suddenly threw up and he leapt back. He went over and helped her sit down and rest. He found an All Materia, and pocketed it.

He spoke with Aerith, which she told him the others were on the deck. He went up there after climbing the stairs. He found Tifa, and she was in the act real good, Red however was wobbling around trying to stand on two legs. Red remarked that he'd make a fine human being, but when he turned around to look at the ocean, Harry sweatdropped at the waving tail. Barret however was no where to be found, until two days later. Harry did learn one thing though: Yuffie gets seasick easily. The ship was almost at the destination, when he crossed to the front deck, and then hid when he saw Barret trying to peer into Rufus' office.

"Barret, get down! You wanna get us caught?"

"Harry look at them in there. That fat idiot laughing... Rufus not givin' a shit."

Barret growled. "Don't do anything rash Barret," Harry argued.

"Because of his father, Biggs, Wedge, Jessie, and the others at Sector 7 died..."

Harry warned the man again as his gun arm was shaking. "Gunna settle things here and now..."

Before Harry could open his mouth, a loud siren pierced his ears, even with the muffling helmet on. He looked around to see Shinra troops in the back running off; the siren dimmed to make way for a voice over the speakers.

"INTRUDER ALERT #BUZZ# -UDER SPOTTED IN STORAGE AREA #BUZZ# -IROTH-" the voice promptly fizzled into nothing but static. Rufus Shinra and Heidegger locked down the office, and sealing the windows with steel shutters.

"Well... everyone's here, no one was caught... so it must be Sephiroth," Harry surmised to the team, tossing his helmet off and putting his glasses on.

"He's here, on the ship?"

"Probably. We should go down three a single team," Harry said before ripping off the Shinra uniform he wore.

"Anyone got my sword?"

Cloud took Gryffindor Sword out and threw at him, and he caught it, fluidly threw it around himself and snapped the buckle on, as the sword now rested against his back.

"Well... I did most of the stupid work back in Junon, so I'm sticking up here with Yuffie."

She decided to remain close to the teen, as Cloud sighed and took Aerith and Barret with him. By now the others had discarded the costumes and equipped themselves, remaining hidden on the top deck.

"Are you going to be alright Yuffie?" Harry asked the teenaged ninja as they huddled behind one of the large mast poles near the archway leading to the stairs to the cargo hold.

"I will... as soon as we reach land. I hate ships..."

Harry hesitated, but put his arms around her as he sat down, forcing her to sit down beside him. She remained in his protective embrace, and she felt oddly comfortable being close to the green-eyed teenager. She closed her eyes and rested her head against him.

=0=0=

Down below, most of the Shinra guards who scrambled to find the intruder were brutally slaughtered. It was like a blood bath down below.

"Damn... he must be on the ship," Cloud said, as he found the door which was blocked earlier now open. The trio stepped in, only to be bombarded by four small squid-like creatures that immediately tossed fireballs at them. Cloud blocked them and ran in, cutting through them with ease. Cloud walked down the steps into the next cargo hold, only to see a red general fall to the ground, and blood pooling outward.

"_After a long sleep... the time... the time has come......"_

Aerith gasped, and Barret swore, taking aim with his gun-arm as Sephiroth slowly rose through the floor to their level.

"Sephiroth... you're alive!"

"... Who are you?"

"You don't remember me!? I'm Cloud!" Sephiroth stared blankly at Cloud. "Sephiroth! What are you thinking? What are you doing!?"

He slowly levitated into the air, arms outstretched. "The time has come!"

A brilliant flash of magic pushed the three down to the ground as he flew away dropping off the arm of Jenova, which grew into a dangerous sin-ugly monster. JENOVA*Birth attacked with a spread laser beam, but they ducked out of the way. Barret grunted as he rolled to duck from a blast of magic.

"This sucka's goin' down!"

Barret glowed before he took aim with his gun-arm, and attacked with his Grenade Limit Break. An explosive blast smashed right into it, and it crashed into some of te iron crates. But, it had bounced back with an attack of its own. Cloud ran in and stuck the sword into the beast's lower area before with great force ripped it upward with a Climhazzard. JENOVA*Birth roared as it casted Stop on Barret, who froze completely, unmoving. Then it focused on Cloud and Aerith, unleashing laser fire from one of its tentacles. Cloud shoved Aerith to the ground as he deflected the lasers with his blade. He charged and slashed at it, as Barret slowly regained movement, and let out a curse along rounds of gunfire blasts.

Aerith stood up and tapped into the summoning Materia on her staff. In a swirl of fyreflies, a large armored Chocobo appeared, and a knight-clad Moogle rode it as a steed. The bird and rider back until they no longer could, before dashing right at the beast. The demon turned around to swat at them, but the Chocobo dodged as the Moogle and it crashed right at it, sending it flailing down with a loud BOOM! On of the tentacles waved wildly, and it slapped her hard, as she flew into Barret. Cloud ran forward and ducked the lashing tentacles, chopping the few that sprouted to pierce him in the torso. The chocobo and moogle vanished in a swirl of fireflies, as Aerith glowed spinning her staff.

"Healing Wind!"

A bright aura swirled wildly around her and the two men as their injuries were fully healed. It roared as it struck with a tail laser, eerily mimicking the Scorpion Guard Cloud and Barret fought in one of the Reactors back in Midgar. Cloud casted a Blizzara before ducking out of harm's way, as the wintry wind froze several of the tentacles. Barret roared as he open fired with his gun, the gun blasts shattering the frozen tentacles, and Aerith's aura flared before she attempted to Seal the evil demon. It fought against the incantation Aerith was attempting to cast upon it, allowing Cloud the opportunity to take it out. Much of the body was consumed in flames as it shrank like a wilting leaf, until large portions broke apart like clumps of dry dirt smashed under a boot. What remained was the head, which let out a dying shriek and evaporate into dust.

Barret looked at Cloud. "Was that...?"

"Yes... Sephiroth is alive... but what did me mean by that... the time has come...?"

"_Attention all Dock Workers: The ship shall dock in Costa del Sol in five minutes. Prepare for docking."_

The three left the cargo hold to return to the others, Cloud picking up a red Materia orb spotted as he left. They hide in the cargo far from view as most of the Shinra guards have been killed by Sephiroth apparently, except the ship crew whom didn't go into the cargo holds. The morning was dangerous, however, Cloud and the gang had crossed the ocean without being discovered. As for Harry, the teenager never thought he would be back at Costa del Sol again. As the boat docked into the port, the group took this chance to sneak off board and into the summery atmosphere that was Costa del Sol.

* * *

**Welcome to Costa del Sol! Please review~**


	12. Chapter 12

**Harry Potter's Meteor Crisis**

**Disclaimer & Author's Note:** I do not own Harry Potter, any mentioned Harry Potter characters, and I do not own the characters of Final Fantasy VII or the series themselves. I do own whatever minor OCs that pop up as fillers, and this strange half-altered novelization plotline.

* * *

**CHAPTER TWELVE**

"Damn! Sure is hot here," Barret said as he ran off the ship and onto the dock, Aerith and Tifa following. Red XIII panted a bit as he strolled beside Tifa. From the back of the ship Yuffie and Harry had jumped down, landing in a crouch.

"Sure feel better having to say good-bye to that damned sailor suit," he grumbled.

Yuffie had gone up to an airplane that was in dock, asking the guy if there was any Materia shops around. Harry was with her, as Barret was teased about being a cute big bear in a marshmallow suit.

"Hey Yuffie you feeling better now that we're off that damn ship?"

"Yup!" She exclaimed with a grin. He smiled.

"Good, got real tired of wearing that damn uniform; It was tight around the crotch," he winced, and she giggled. The two ran over to the others, as Barret yelled at the gang to split up and mingle around the common folk.

"This heat is drying up my nose, so I'm going to find a cool shade to rest in."

"Remember, we need to keep ourselves hidden until Rufus disappears. It would be bad to draw suspicions. I'm going to find us an Inn to rest in, and we'll go on from here... then I'm joining Yuffie."

Yuffie blinked at Harry. "Sure. First of all... we go shopping!" She sprinted off, and Harry shrugged and followed the ninja as she leapt over the wall.

Barret shook his head as he ran off with Red followed at a quick enough pace. The girls were left with Cloud, as they made haste when they heard Rufus and Heidegger coming out from their hiding place on the ship.

"Say, have you been here, before?"

"Yeah. For about a week I stayed here during my travels."

=0=0=

A helicopter soon arrived, as Rufus walked onto the dock, Heidegger following.

"I heard... Sephiroth was on board."

Heidegger gulped. "... Yes."

"And Cloud and the others somehow snuck onto the ship."

"Yes..." he whimpered a bit.

"Not to mention, that boy Harry Potter had infiltrated the Shinra Army, and was able to get them past security!" Heidegger said nothing. He sighed as he turned towards Heidegger. "They all slipped through. You messed up big this time, Heidegger."

"I'm sorry," he said, "I'm ashamed of myself."

He growled. "Is that all you can do? Give one word answers and apologize for everything?"

Heidegger flinched, as Rufus simply strolled past him with a bump to the shoulder, heading towards the heli-pad, "I expect some results!" and boarded his prepared helicopter. Heidegger growled as the helicopter soon flew into the air and away from Costa del Sol. Heidegger screaming out his anger chased around the few people watching and punching one boat crewman over the docking rail into the ocean.

=0=0=

"Yo guys, I got us several rooms at the Costa del Sol Inn, it's near the shop Yuffie and I are taking part-time at. Later." He hung up the PHS and returned his attention to a guy who needed to buy some other miscellaneous items, while Yuffie was plotting in her head.

Harry was shirtless in a pair of shorts and wearing sandals Yuffie managed to swipe off some couple at the beach. She was in a shuriken printed bikini top with her shorts still worn due to the hot weather. It was three hours since they have done a bit of clothes shopping, and they had found out Yuffie was a bit of a drill sergeant.

"If only they had good summer weather like this back at my home country," Harry said as he accepted the Gil, and the guy went off with the things he bought.

"The beach was good and all, cool crystal clear waters," Yuffie sighed with a dreamy voice, and Harry chuckled draping an arm around the girl's shoulder.

"You do look cute in that top love." She broke into a minor blush and he grinned, giving her a kiss on the cheek.

"Are you flirting with me?" Yuffie said in a sweet voice.

"You want it to stop?" he quipped.

She suddenly leaned close. "As long as you're not a pervert..."

Barret found the Inn five minutes Harry made the call to the others, and he and Yuffie saw him carry with him the sailor suit he was in disguised in back on the shop. They shrugged as they resumed work; the guy who ran the shop taking a break from his hectic schedule, via relaxing in nothing but a pair of shorts and drinking a fruit punch drink out of a chilled glass with a mini umbrella stuck in. Meanwhile, three people walked onto the beach. Cloud wore purple swim trunks with a towel around his neck. Tifa had set down a beach umbrella they were given on loan by the shack at the entrance, and a beach blanket and three chairs.

"Do you have any sun block?"

"Right here Aerith," Tifa said, handing her the SPC 60 bottle.

"Thanks. Cloud, could you help me please?"

Cloud nodded, as he helped apply the screen on the young lady. She was wearing a two piece pink and white frill bikini, while Tifa wore a similar bikini minus the frills, and was yellow. Once Aerith was done, he did the same to Tifa, and then applied some on himself.

"Hey Harry, could you go to the bar nearby we passed and grab some drinks?" Yuffie asked, taking the Gil payment and dropped them into the cash box.

"What kind Yuffie?"

"Oh... some of their Tropical Fruit drinks in a bottle. Four if you can?"

"Sure thing Yuffie. We could share two for two." He unstrapped his sword and she blushed briefly as he strapped the buckle on her, "can't lose this sword Yuffie. It's practically part of my soul if I lost it..."

"Sure Harry," she spoke softly as Harry hopped over the stand and took off, accidentally kicking the ball. It struck Red who barked at the pain. She took out the sword from its scabbard and looked over the elegant blade. She felt a soft thrill of power that resonated within the metal. She immediately knew how powerful the sword can be, and it only seemed to share and resonate the power with the Materias on the sword's two slots (Harry asked if he could slot the summon Materia of Ifrit into his sword, and Cloud handed dit to the teenager back on the ship).

She didn't even realize after he returned she was several Gil lighter. When she did she turned a glare at the boy. "Did you...?"

"Well... I CAN be sneaky if I need to me," he said, which brought a grin upon her face when he gave her a wink.

"Sly, Harry, very sly."

He just smiled at her as they popped the easy-pop caps off and they clink their drinks, before taking a long swig from it.

"Damn, they make good drinks," Harry said, taking another swig. She laughed at Harry's cheerful disposition. After he finished he helped unstrap his weapon off her, blushing briefly when his hand brushed against her breasts, and restrapped it onto himself.

"Hey Cloud, look," Tifa said pointing towards three women crowding around a man in a lab coat minus a shirt, and in shorts instead of slacks.

"Who, those three ladies?"

Tifa smacked him up the back of his head, who wined at the pain. "No Cloud, that man..."

He looked closer, before blinking twice. "Is that Hojo?"

"I think so..."

Tifa looked at Aerith who now had her attention, before the three stood up packing their things and heading over.

"Excuse me?" The woman sniped.

"I want to speak with that man," Cloud told the black haired Wutaian woman.

She huffed. _Rude much,_ "Hey, some blonde wants to speak with you Professor Hojo," the woman said.

He mumbled something, before he opened his eyes and looked at who it was. "Oh... it's you..."

"Hojo..."

He shook his head. "Sometimes you just have to do something like this," he explained.

"What are you doing?"

"Relaxing and was getting a tan before the sunset," he scoffed.

"Answer me!" Cloud yelled.

"I believe we're both after the same goal..."

"Sephiroth..."

"I've just remembered a particular hypothesis," he smiled, showing his teeth in a grin, "Have you ever had the feeling something was calling to you? Or that you had to visit a certain place?"

"If you're talking about Sephiroth," Cloud snarled, "I'll follow him wherever he goes to kill him and put an end to all of this."

Hojo then noticed Aerith. "Hm... the Ancient..."

Aerith huffed, crossing her arms. "The best you could do is remembering my name! It's Aerith!"

Hojo just shrugged her off, and replaced the sunglasses back on. "I see."

"... Hojo," she started, looking determined to continue even though she looked like she would rather not, "Is Sephiroth an Ancient? Is Jenova an Ancient? Do we really share the same blood?"

Tifa and Cloud looked at Aerith; her questions were not ones they had anticipated.

"Head West," Hojo said tersely, "and leave me the hell alone before I call the police." Hojo now ignored the three, so they decided to leave the beach, heading towards the Inn.

=0=0=

A blast of fire explodes forth, and the sand creatures turn tail and run. Hermione sighed, eyes narrowed at how persistent they were in trying to kill them.

"Bugenhagen, are you alright?"

"Yes child, I am," the old man said with a delightful chuckle, "I am glad you did come with me. The sand dwellers seem to be more blood thirsty than should be. It does worry me a bit."

"I can ward them off for as long as I can," the teen responds.

Bugenhagen nods, as the two resume their travel back to Cosmo Canyon.

"So, what do you think of the Gold Saucer?"

"It was so amazing," she said with a dreamy sigh, "all the rides, attractions, and the mall they had. I just never knew there could be so many different stores and market chains."

Bugenhagen chuckles, as he was pulling a wheel wagon full of stuff they purchased, Hermione helping him with pulling it through the canyon.

"I think Harry would have liked it..." Then a depressed sigh escaped her, "Bugenhagen, I keep having more of these vivid dreams about my brother. I can be sure that he's still alive out there... it's just more of these dreams keep telling me to stay at Cosmo Canyon. No matter how hard I wish to leave and find him by myself, I just can't take my steps out the front gates."

"Maybe it's the Planet, my dear that is speaking to you. Sometimes it can do that, if you're faithful enough. However these dreams that you tell me, could also have a bigger plot that you are not seeing yet."

"... Sir... there was one other dream I had... more like a nightmare," she shuddered, "it was a man with a long sword. My brother shoved me out of the way, and he ended up getting impaled by the sword instead of me. He saved me from getting killed."

Bugenhagen hm'ed, as the only noise came from the wood wheels of the wagon. As they reached the steps to Cosmo Canyon, the Hidden Village of the Stars, he looks over at the distraught teenager.

"It could very well be a vision you speak of, Hermione," he reasons, "You would do well to remembering them. Sometimes, there may be events that will cause either harm in the outcome, or bring good fortune. Other times, it may be telling you that it is a situation where you can change... that is all I can say regarding your vision, Hermione. In the end, you are in charge of your own life... if there is something you do not like, change it."

A couple of men waiting by the steps went to helping carry the goods up the stairs carved into the slant mountainside. Hermione walked off by herself, away from the village but close by without wandering into dangerous territory. She climbed up until she found herself looking out the vast valleys that made up the canyons. Off in the distance the sun was still shining brightly with the noon hours slowly dwindling away into the evening hours.

_Raimu sooda o nomihoshi te  
Hitotsu tameiki  
Omotedoori nana shoku no neonsain  
Hanayagu koi no moyou_

_Shinya ni mi ta eiga no sei  
Amai kuchi duke  
Kimi to boku ga  
Firumu no naka no futari nara  
Motto suteki na noni ne_

_Arifure ta monogatari de mo hakanaku  
Taikutsu na monoroogu bakka  
Tsumiage te ta kinou houridashi te_

Here, she would stay, singing her favorite song to herself, hearing the music that echoes in her thoughts. Wishing... just wishing... Harry was here to listen to her... she also wished that one dream of hers came true: their reunion.

=0=0=

Night has fallen, and the beaches were cleared. However, one person was still loitering the sands. He sat at the edge, his feet gently licked by the gentle crash of water still wearing his swim trunks. The clouds were few and far in-between, and the stars glittered beautifully as opposed to city life. By his side was his sword laid in resting next to his discarded sandals. He reached into his pocket, and took out a card-shaped locket that he kept in his other pants. Opening it, he stared into the photo of himself and his sister.

"Hey there," Yuffie greeted the older teenager, as she walked up to his left. He gazed at her, before closing it, and resumes staring out to the vast ocean.

"Hey Yuffie," he sighed.

She took a seat next to him on the cool sand. "What's wrong, Harry? You slipped out of the Inn while everyone else was playing pool and stuff."

"Just needed to get some air, is all," he told her.

"I doubt it. Tell me… what's up with you. You're not a secret emo, are you?"

"Hell no," he said, before he sighed, "It's my sister… I don't know if she's out there… or if she died when my island home sunk into the ocean from the earthquake."

"You have a sister?"

"Yeah…" he took the photo back out and showed it to Yuffie, "This was taken when we were twelve years old…"

"Hehe… she's cute."

Harry smiled briefly, accepting the picture back.

"Heh…" He wraps his arms around his knees, as he continues to stare out to the ocean.

"Harry… you shouldn't really dwell on such feelings… just keep a positive outlook for yourself. Who knows… you'll find her one day."

He glances at the ninja, and then smiled. "Thanks for the sudden pep talk, Yuffie."

"Yeah, well it's better than having you get all mopey on our little travel finding Sephiroth."

It may have sounded a bit mean, but Harry could hear the warmth in her voice. He got up, dusting the sand off himself before extending a hand to her. She grasps it as he helps her up.

"Hey, Harry, how much Gil do you have on you?"

"Hm… I believe around 500,000,000 Gil," he said.

"You're serious?"

Somewhere in the afterlife…

"He's not Sirius! I am!" the dog Marauder shouts with a hearty laugh.

"I know it sounds a lot, but stumbling upon a goldmine of Gil from ex-Shinra soldiers… well…" he shrugged, "plus side jobs here and there on my year travel helps, and selling what bits of real gold, silver, and mythril possible."

"Cool," she stated.

"Why? Why do you ask, Yuffie?"

"Oh nothing much… just… need a bit of Gil for something."

"Hm… well… it seems quite sudden, Yuffie. We're not even dating yet," he said.

She leaned close, grinning. "Then take me shopping for a bit."

"Fine, I will. Anything in particular, Yuffie?"

She blushed a bit. We're both reasonable young adults, right? So you won't laugh when I take you to the shop I saw."

"Okay then." He holds his arm out, and she smirked, linking up.

=0=0=

"Have a nice night," said the guy behind the counter with a perverted grin on his face. Yuffie was blushing a bit, taking the package with her as she and Harry left this adult novelty/video shop.

"Huh… need help?"

"Don't push it, Harry," Yuffie said, blushing much redder.

As they walked down the cobblestone street…

"You tell anyone... and I'm going to kill you," Yuffie threatened.

"I won't Yuffie, swear it," he said, blushing. He wasn't the only one blushing, as the two teenagers headed to the Inn, Yuffie hiding her little package holding a toy she purchased. She blushed more when Harry slipped an arm around her waist as the two reached the Inn entrance, and he opened the door for her.

They walked in, as few people who were night owls were wide awake. At the pool table, Cloud and Tifa were shooting pool when they looked up to see Harry with an arm wrapped around Yuffie, both teens having light red cheeks. From the nearby couch was Aerith reading a magazine, as she looked from the teenagers to Cloud and Tifa. Cloud looked at Tifa, who shrugged before making her shot. Barret was enjoying a few drinks at a pub so he wasn't there, and Red was by Aerith's feet, tail sweeping once and awhile behind him. The teenagers quickly disappeared from the living room quarters of the Inn and reached their shared bedroom, and walked in before Harry closed it and locked the door.

"Look Yuffie... I will not tell anybody, okay?"

"You better not."

He pulled her over to the bed and began giving her a massage, one that made her close her eyes in content.

"You're looking a bit stressed Yuffie," he said, as she moaned, his fingers working their magic.

"That feels good," she told him, "how good are you with your hands?"

"To answer safely and to preserve my manhood," Yuffie giggled at this, "pretty much that it helps relax you and rid aching muscles and stress. Hermione liked my massages when we were fifteen."

"I can understand why," she moaned, as she was now laying flat on her stomach, shirt removed and he was now working down her back, massaging the soreness away.

=0=0=

Harry, Tifa, and Yuffie left early the next morning. It was a plan they all agreed on. A group split. Harry vowed to go ahead. He chose to have Tifa and Yuffie join him as they headed west from Costa del Sol. Of course, Harry and Tifa never knew that Yuffie had snatched three Materia of each from the Materia shelves of the shop next to the Inn.

"So, what areas are you most familiar with here, Harry?" Tifa inquired.

"I know there was a large patch of desert in this continent. I also heard about the Gold Saucer, but I have never gone there before. When I traveled, I avoided traveling through mountain terrain, and stuck close to the coastlines as much as possible. My friend Zndria came from the Corel area though, but she left because she wanted to go see the world."

"What about her parents?"

"She was an orphan. The path I took through the mountains was near the coastal line, and it was also a very dangerous trek. Several aerial monsters lived around that area, and I once got attacked by a giant-ass snapping turtle that breathed fire. There was another path that I could have taken, but my travels would take taken me atleast a month or so before I would reach the safer paths. From the map, the path I am talking about goes through a passageway through the mountains, until it reaches a river valley. From there, traveling along that route would eventually lead to Zndria's old hometown."

They reached the southern end of the mountains around late noon and decided to stop for lunch. After a nice meal they had premade back at Costa del Sol they set off west once more crossing a bridge that stretched from cliff to cliff over a massive ravine, the bottom of which was a river that spilled into the ocean inlet to the north. They had just stepped off the bridge on the other side when they encountered three large blue chicken-like monsters. Yuffie rolled to the side to avoid getting pecked and countered with a leg sweep with a fling of her boomerang. Tifa launched herself at the chicken monster. She use her martial arts moves to take it down, before managing a hip to shoulder toss, grappling the neck, to slam it right into the ground. The neck snapped, and she kicked it away as it fell into the ravine.

Harry, meanwhile, was preoccupied with evading pecking attempts from the second monster. He would step to the side and swing his sword, only to have the chicken weave back. Frustrated, he cast Quake on it through his Earth Materia, sending the bird up into the air. Since its wings were not suited for flight, despite the creature's frantic attempts to slow its descent, it crashed feet first into the ground. A loud SNAP signified that both of its chicken-legs had broken, leaving it defenseless on the ground. Harry sprinted in, and with the Steal Materia pulled a bottled feather; the label on it read Soft. Harry pocketed it then finished the creature off via decapitation. He turned to look at Yuffie and Tifa. Seeing that they had things well in hand, Harry scooped up the Gil and slid it all into his money pouch.

They continued on their way through the mountains, burning the rest of the daylight until they finally stopped. They reached the foot of a mountain path near nightfall. Instead of attempting the trail in the darkness, they stopped for the night and pitched their tents. The other group had caught up by then. Barret turned in early, leaving Red and Harry talking around the small campfire with Yuffie listening in on the conversations. The morning they packed up and continued going, as they now decided to scale the mountain. Cloud and Aerith still haven't arrived, as they had to find an alternative path (due to the old bridge finally giving way). Barret and Tifa stayed behind, allowing Harry to go on ahead, with Yuffie going with him, and this time, Red XIII followed the teenagers.

A short way up the mountain trail, and the two teenagers and fire lion encountered a traveling man resting under the shade of a near bare tree.

"Hello," Harry greeted.

"Oh, someone is stopping to speak with me?"

Harry was tempted to make a witty remark, but held back. "Is there some reason we shouldn't?"

"Oh, no, no, it's just... I just passed a guy in a black cape back there. I just tried to tell him that it's dangerous up ahead, and he ignored me! Well, he turned his head and gave me the evil eye, before walking on into the darkness."

"Sephiroth..." Red muttered.

"Let's hurry on," Yuffie agreed warily.

"Right. Thanks, old man and take care," Harry waved.

"Don't mention it, sonny. Oh, and do be careful. There have been recent monster sightings around these parts."

With a nod, they traveled up the mountain, having to take care of minor pests and bugs as the man had said, but upon reaching the top, they were greeted to the sight of a Mako Reactor. Yuffie glared at the vile machinery set in its dug hole.

"Mako Reactor... the Shinra wanted to have one at Wutai, and when we said no, it led to us going into war with those bastards..."

Harry stared at the tall machine, as steam rose from the various shafts. "We should get going, just incase..."

They raced down the man-made steel stairs, hoping and praying there was no security stationed around this area. There wasn't any, luckily, however there WERE a few monsters that had taken refuge in the upper mountains; Giant dinosaur-like creatures with a large thick tail, elongated neck, and six turtle-like feet. They were a pain to deal with, but Harry and Yuffie, with help from Red, got through the group of Bagnadrana.

Harry, Yuffie, and Red are careful as they travel down the railway bridge.

"We have to be careful here," said Harry.

"Don't worry about me, Harry," said Yuffie.

"Red?"

"I'll be fine. Heights are not a concern for me," he told the teen.

The trio them begin their trek as they climb the hills, as the railroad leads onto a large bridge. Thankfully, it was a quiet trek on the railroad bridge, though they did find a Transform Materia, which Yuffie happily accepted from Harry. They reached the end where they decided to take the path that didn't go into the mountains. The road at the end led to two exits; where the low road led to a draw bridge that appeared to have been inactive and left "open" for years. Harry backtracked, passing by the others who caught up and ran to the higher road. Crossing the bridge, he soon reached a small outhouse at the edge. A tight fit, but Harry managed to pull the lever, allowing the others to cross the bridge. Harry as he exited, heard the chirps of newborn chicks, so he climbed up a climbable wall, and saw something beautiful. A nest of baby chicks, chirping endlessly. A shining trove of treasure was used as nesting material.

"Wow," he whispered. The chicks turn to chirp at him, and the teen dug around his pockets, until he produced a half-opened bag of saltines. He opened the bag all the way, gently laying the crackers down. The chicks have fun eating the crackers. With a smile on his face, he turned around, and jumped away, unaware that its mother was watching him intently but did not make a move against him. The mother simply sat there on the higher branch. Harry landed, nearly tripped, and caught himself by gripping the edge. Harry carefully jumped down, where Yuffie remained waiting.

"What's up?"

"You climbed up there, so I waited," she said, "the others are waiting up ahead. Hurry up."

"I'm comin', Yuffie."

"So, what was up there that got your attention?"

"Oh… a nest of baby chicks," he replied, "it… it was a beautiful sight, Yuffie."

"It must be," she said, smiling softly.

"They were hungry, so I gave them some crackers I had in my large pocket. Didn't see the mother though."

The two walk along the tracks by the river, until they reached the where the others were. Now that both groups were together, they traveled across the rickety wood bridge, though Barret was feeling a bit nervous as they drew closer to the other side.

=0=0=

The town they entered ten minutes later appeared to be a place made of junk. Hills were flattened with enough foot traffic. Some of the streets and roads were now covered by dirt, broken trash, or large tents housing scattered families. Barret tensed, when an old friend spotted him with the group.

"Hey! He's back!" The man yelled to the townsfolk. A couple more men wander over, as Barret told the gang to stay back. He walked up to the group; however the men did not budge from their spot, glares casted.

Harry reacted when one of the men sucker punched Barret, but Cloud kept a good grip on Harry's arm.

"Well, I'd never believe you'd return here again," said the man who punched Barret.

"Yeah. Got allota balls comin' back here!"

"Yeah, and those people with you, friends, huh? I do feel sorry for them; hangin' with a walkin' death sentence like you!"

The first man who wore a blue cap, and had tanned skin, crossed his arms over his chest. "Just look at this place! It's all your damn fault North Corel turned into a trash heap!"

"So… say sumthin'! What? Forgot how to speak?"

Barret was taking in all the verbal abuse. His shoulders sagged a bit. "I'm sorry…"

The group just continue to glare.

"Fuck him. He aint' worth the breath."

"Let's just leave this Techno-freak alone."

They all agree, and wander off to return to doing what they were doing. As for Barret, he just sighed, as Harry walked up to him after wrestling himself from Cloud's grip.

"Barret…"

"You heard them, Harry," said Barret, "it's my fault… it's my damn fault…"

They watch Barret run off into the ruins of the town, heading down a path that led to "The Gold Saucer." Harry gave chase, prompting the others to follow.

=0=0=

"Barret... what happened back there?"

Barret was standing at an open door of a blue rail car suspended on wires with two fan rocket fusion engines on the front side rails. Everyone crowded around, the girls beside Cloud, Red XIII sitting down beside Aerith, Harry and Yuffie standing together with the ninja keeping an arm clasped around the male teen's arm.

"Sorry..."

"Barret...?"

"My hometown used to be around here," Barret explained.

"Used to?" Red questioned.

"Ain't here no more. Heard it was buried four years ago."

"But, how could those people say those terrible things?" Aerith argued.

"Cuz it's true. An' it's my fault... ALL my fault!"

//FLASHBACK//

The town of Corel four years ago was a simple yet clean town, with some children playing, laughing and giggling. However, this was one day that would change everything. Around one house was two Shinra guards situated at the doors, as the adults of the town were currently having a meeting at the location.

_"... My hometown, Corel's always been a coal mining town. It's so dusty, but calm and so poor... It was a real small town, this one. That's the first time I had ever heard of the name, "Mako Reactor" mentioned since that time..."_

A man with white hair and a bald head on top sighed wearily. "What are we going to do? The only one against this is Dyne..."

The man named Dyne wore overall dark green jeans, combat boots, white t-shirt, and had short dark purple hair.

Dyne stood up off the couch, glaring at the old man who was the Village Headman. "I am definitely against it, no matter what. There's nothing to talk about if you're thinking about throwing out the coal! Our coal's been protected for generations. Our fathers, and theirs before, risked their lives for it. And we have no reason to get rid of it."

"But listen, Dyne. No one uses coal nowadays. It's the sign of the times," A four year younger yet still burly Barret told the man.

"Right," Scarlet spoke up, "everything is Mako now. It'll be alright, Mr. Dyne. Shinra, Inc. will guarantee your livelihood once the Mako Reactor is completed."

Barret sighed as he went up to Dyne. "Look, I don't want my wife to suffer anymore."

"I know how you feel! I feel the same way too, damn it!" Dyne snapped, "But even so, I will NOT give away our coal mines!"

"Dyne," the man sighed, "you've got to understand..."

Dyne stared at the old man, before he sat down and put his hands on his face, groaning.

_"That's how the Corel Reactor was built...... and completed. Hell, we thought it would bring us an easier life..."_

_"What happened, Barret?"_

What happened was children were screaming in terror, flames and heat corroding the town, the lives, and the people. The cries of children dying, the crackle and roar of the flames, and the falling of dead bodies hitting the ground, echoing or faint…

_"It happened when Dyne and I were out of town for a few days. Corel was burned down by the Shinra troops. All the townspeople... all my relatives... my family... my friends... everyone... everything..."_

//END FLASHBACK//

"Shinra troops!? What the hell for?"

"There was an explosion at the reactor. Shinra blamed the town, saying it was a rebel fraction that caused the explosion..."

"That's terrible!" Tifa exclaimed.

"Well, I guess that's true. But more than Shinra, I couldn't forgive myself," Barret said, "Never should've gone along with the building of the reactor..."

"Don't blame yourself," Tifa spoke up, walking up to Barret, "we were all fooled by the promises Shinra made back then."

"But that is why I get so pissed off!" Barret yelled, "not only did they take advantage of me... but I lost my wife, Myrna..."

The guy at the dock station suddenly yelled at them to either get in or not. Cloud decided they should get on before walking right into the rail cart. Barret sighed.

"Dyne was my best friend. We were close ever since we were kids..." Barret then wandered onto the cart.

"I never knew. Barret never said anything..." Tifa sighed.

Yuffie shook her head. "I'm not sympathizing with Barret! He never should have trusted Shinra..."

Harry sighed. "I would have to agree... but the thing I sympathize is the loss of everyone you knew... people you loved..."

Looking at Yuffie, he walked into the rail cart. Yuffie stared back before she followed him. The others were silent, before they headed in as well, Tifa closing the rail cart door. The guy muttered something incoherent before signaling the working inside, and the engines switched on. The boosters roared to life and the wheel blades spun as it slowly flew and left the dock following the tram line.


	13. Chapter 13

**Harry Potter's Meteor Crisis**

**Disclaimer & Author's Note:** I do not own Harry Potter, any mentioned Harry Potter characters, and I do not own the characters of Final Fantasy VII or the series themselves. I do own whatever minor OCs that pop up as fillers, and this strange half-altered novelization plotline.

* * *

**CHAPTER THIRTEEN**

It was a silent ride up, as everyone sat around or stood. The sun had just set in the distance, as dusk was forming, the light soon fading and stars slowly appearing against the clouds of the high altitude. It was nearing night as the rail ride reached its destination. The Gold Saucer was a very fun and impressive family attraction. There were several giant sky scraper buildings the shape of UFOs. Fireworks went off at certain intervals and in different locations. The rides and shows were loud, children could be heard laughing, lights and neon signs here and there flashing and blinking, giant spotlights wavering in their fixed locations, and the numerous visitors at the place were simply amazing for Harry, as he sat down next to Yuffie. She still had an arm clasped around him which he paid no mind to. Rather he liked the feeling of her arm anchored on him. The group minus Barret noticed this, and was looking at each other seeing Yuffie rest her head against the boy's shoulder, who in question, was looking out the window drinking in the sight with his eyes. The giant flashing sign they passed entering the docking station flared "Welcome to the GOLD SAUCER" in bright neon colored lights. Finally it docked into the station as the team left the rail and headed off the entrance.

"Hello, and welcome to the Gold Saucer. A single pass is 3,000 Gil, while a Lifetime Pass is 30,000. A single pass for the party will become invalid once you leave the Gold Saucer, while the second pass would last indefinitely. While here at the Gold Saucer there are many places where you must pay with GP, or Gold Points. GP is a currency usable only here at the Gold Saucer. GP can only be redeemed at the games section in the Wonder Square, at Chocobo Races, or through contests held regularly. Just remember, the GP limit is 10,000, so please be careful."

Harry blinked, before with his free arm he pulled out his wallet that was attached to him via a silver chain. He opened the wallet, and fished out a large amount of bills.

"Hand me a Lifetime Pass."

"Holy shit," She muttered as the group went past the stunned ticket woman's booth, holding 30,000 Gil. Harry bought a Lifetime Pass signed in Yuffie's name after he asked her to sign for it; why? He felt like it.

"I can't believe you bought a Lifetime Pass to the Gold Saucer," Tifa said, not believing it either as they entered into the main portal area.

"Who cares? This is cool! We could come here any time we want now without worrying about paying for tickets!" She glomped Harry, as he and Yuffie crashed to the ground, causing the group and several other onlookers to sweatdrop.

"Eh..." Harry was blushing, getting nuzzled by the ninja.

"Wow... that was something to see unexpectedly," Cloud spoke up.

Aerith then spoke up to diffuse the situation. "Why don't we go have fun? I mean... I'm sure it's not the right time..." She walked over to Barret and looked at him from behind, "Hey, cheer up!"

"Go! Fuck around if you like!" Many parents with young kids had clapped hands over their ears or dragged them away, "Just remember we're after Sephiroth!" Barret snapped before he disappeared down one of the shoots.

"... He sure pissed off..." Harry mumbled as he helped Yuffie off the floor, "Just let him cool off for a bit," he said out loud before grabbing Yuffie's hand and pulling her off towards a shoot and they both vanished down the slope.

That left Cloud, Red XIII, Aerith, and Tifa at the entrance dome, staring where Harry once stood with of all people, Yuffie.

"Think those two are having a fling?" asked Aerith.

"It's been but a few days, and already those two seem close."

"You must be thinking crazy ideas… they're only teenagers," said Tifa.

"Teenagers with high hormones," Cloud points out, making Tifa rethink what she said earlier.

=0=0=

"Let's just have some fun," Harry said, managing to win by sheer luck three thousand GP by some guy who tried to hustle people before security arrived and dragged the man off. Of course, he won fair and square so he and Yuffie quickly left with the GP. He landed on his feet in the Wonder Square entrances. He moved as Yuffie landed beside him.

"Strange how Sephiroth was here... for some reason this brings an unknown fear..."

Earlier they had bumped into a man named Dio who was the owner of the Gold Saucer. He mistaken them as a dating couple, which the tow blushing teens quickly said they were just two friends. Dio just nodded it away with an all-knowing grin. Of course during Dio's speech he was making sorts of body builder poses which made the teens think if he's had too many muscle building pills.

Yuffie frowned momentarily before she smiled. "Let's forget it right now Harry. We got three thousand GP. I wonder what kind of things they have here."

"Hm..."

"Harry, why did you drag me to go with you?" She was suddenly serious.

"Well... even though I'm older than you by two years we're both teenagers..."

She blinked and thought for a few seconds before she nodded the realization. "Oh yeah. Kinda creepy if I hung out with like Cloud..."

"Heh, why do I see a perverted joke on Cloud a profaner of kiddy porn?"

She started laughing loudly, and Harry soon joined her, unaware that the old wives tale struck; Cloud sneezed.

"Oh, that was just evil, Harry," she said once her uncontrollable giggles subsided.

"I aim to please Miss Kisaragi," he said bowing to her with a goofy grin and wink. She giggled again, as the few people around the Wonder Square entrance watch with curiosity.

She accepted the hand he held to her, and together they headed up the stairs and through the corridor walkway into the Wonder Square building.

=0=0=

Cloud's PHS rang an hour later, as he took it out.

"Hello? Harry, what is it?"

_"I met a man named Dio earlier when we stopped a GP hustler... he confronted a man with a Black Cape. However he had quickly left as soon as he arrived..."_

"... Well, it's probably good you heard that but we'll speak of that later. Where are you and Yuffie at?" They were currently leaving the Event Square watching some sort of play.

_"We're at the Ghost Hotel. With only 2,223 GP left, I was able to get us rooms here for the night, considering the time. Yuffie and I are stuck sharing a room and we're going to head off to sleep. You should too. Oh yeah, and we also got some things for you and everyone else with the things we won using our GP. Later Cloud."_ And Harry hung up.

"What did Harry want?" Tifa asked. She, Aerith, and Red stuck by Cloud, and Aerith's choice was to watch a play at the Event Square.

"Harry got us rooms for the night at the Ghost Hotel. Also they met the owner of the Gold Saucer, Dio, who had a brief encounter with Sephiroth."

Tifa gasped. "Sephiroth was here?"

"Yeah... but the man vanished as soon as he appeared. However, other than that, the manager of the hotel somehow got the kids stuck together." Harry and Yuffie would bristle being called kids if they were there.

Aerith and Tifa looked at each other. "You think our little brother will be alright sleeping with a girl?"

"I doubt he's naïve," Tifa said, chuckling.

"Let's go then," Aerith said, heading to the Ghost portal and disappearing down the warp shoot.

=0=0=

"Hey Harry, how come we didn't choose one of the better buildings?"

Harry shrugged. "Normally such good attractions have packed on-site Inns. Not many people would go to the Ghost Arena where Halloween can scare ya every day. That, and I was feeling cheap."

"Cheap? You bought a Lifetime Pass under my name!"

"Yeah, and it's for you, Yuffie."

"For me?" asked the ninja girl, as a blush began to show itself.

He smiled softly. "Listen. If next time we come back to the Gold Saucer, I'll go to another apartment Inn here in the residential section of the Gold Saucer, okay?"

"Promise, Harry?"

He grabbed her hands, and looked into her eyes. "Promise, Yuffie." He smiled, and she blushed more. He chuckled.

"You look cute with that blush on your face," he points out.

She scowled and gave him a smack over the head. He just laughs more as she storms off to the bathroom to change into their complimentary pyjamas that the Inn provided. Harry smiled a bit, looking at the door of the closed bathroom, before he began to strip off his clothes. His two pockets on his pants, he undid the zipper on the inside of the pant leg, and set them on the counter next to his mother's necklace. The sword was lying against the corner of the room next to Yuffie's Boomerang. After the accessories were taken off, he pulls the green top on, and buttons the shirt, before he grabbed his bottoms and pulls the pyjama pants up. The door opened and Yuffie stepped out wearing a yellow cream-colored pyjama pants and matching top.

"Where did the necklace come from?"

"Oh… this once was my mother's necklace… I kept it with me ever since," Harry explained, picking up the gold item. He looked at it fondly. Yuffie saw a tear slip from the boy's eye. She headed over and hugged him. Harry closed his eyes, closing his hand around it.

He sniffled a bit.

"Harry," she whispered quietly.

=0=0=

The next morning found Yuffie and Harry leaving early to grab some food to eat, mainly Yuffie poking Harry with her Boomerang until he got up, dressed, and leaving. Barret however wasn't around. It was a concern that entered Harry's mind because of what had happened to the man's hometown of Corel. They explored the food area, where they had their breakfast at the Golden Pearl dine-in. Afterward they entered the Chocobo Square, where he suddenly pulled Yuffie back into the entrance from the main entrance.

"Harry, what's the big deal?"

"Shinra are here."

She widen her eyes and peered over the edge as well, and true to the young man's words, Shinra soldiers were given orders and then heading out to different directions.

"Shit... what are they doing here?" Yuffie asked, glad she packed her weapon.

"Dunno... let's follow one of them." Harry chased after Yuffie to the Wonder Square, where they collided with a black cat-like doll riding on top of a large moogle robot. The cat was black and white, wearing a small red cape and had a king's crown perched on its head and held a small speaker phone.

"Hey you, say, what's the big rush?" Once the cat with the light Irish accent managed to scamper back up, "Say... you want me to read your fortune? A bright future! A happy future!" Then he quickly added, "but don't it against me if the prediction's not that great."

Harry and Yuffie looked at each other, before looking back at the fortune teller.

"Oh shoot, forgot about the introduction. My name is Cait Sith, or just Cait, whichever you prefer."

"So... you can read the future?" Harry asked, left eyebrow arched. He looked at Yuffie who looked back, then towards Cait Sith.

"You kidding boy? I can find missing things, people, anything!"

"Hm, okay... can you tell me where a man named Sephiroth is?"

"Oh sure thing!" The mog then started doing some sort of silly little dance, which made Yuffie scoff lightly as she fingered with a curl of Harry's lock of hair. Once it stopped the mog spat out a piece of paper which it grabbed and handed to Harry, who grabbed it and looked at the printed content.

"... Ordinary luck. It will be an active fortune. Give into the good will of others, and a reward'll happen before the falling of summer... wait... what's this?"

"Huh? Wait, lemme try again." Cait Sith did the dance again, before spitting out a new printed paper.

"Be careful of forgetfulness. Your lucky color is... blue? What the bloody hell is this?"

"Sounds like a fraud," Yuffie spoke up, as she anchored around Harry's arm, "let's get going Harry. We're wasting our time here."

"Yeah Yuffie. Let's get going."

"Wait a minute! Wait! Let me try once more laddie!" This time the dance went on a bit faster, as the mog spat the paper out which Harry grabbed.

"What the..."

"What is it Harry?" Yuffie peered over his shoulder.

"What you pursue will be yours. But you will lose something dear," Harry read out.

Harry stared at the paper, and looked at Yuffie.

"Oh dear... I have no clue if that's a good thing or a bad thing... This is the first time I ever got something like THIS. I mean... just knowing of it disturbs me." He looked down, arms crossed, before looking back up, "well, shall we then?"

"Eh?" The two blurted out, looking at the stuffed animated cat.

"As a fortune teller, I can't help but think about this. If I don't see what it leads to, I won't be able to relax. That's why I'm going with you!"

"W-wait a minute!" Yuffie snapped, "You just can't apply yourself to us!"

"I'm going with you no matter WHAT YOU SAY!" Cait Sith snapped back.

Harry growled. "Fine then... but no funny business... if you do... I'll allow Yuffie to use you as target practice for her kunai and shuriken."

Cait Sith sweatdropped.

=0=0=

In the end, they were not able to find the Shinra guard that they were chasing before their impromptu meeting with Cait Sith. Yuffie decided she wanted to test her skills at the Battle Square, so with Cait Sith following the teenagers, they arrived at their destination. Only... at the steps leading to the Battle Square building was a dead Shinra guard at the entrance to the steps that led to the floating palace/castle up a short distance.

"What the..." Harry ran over and kneeled down, "Yup... definitely dead."

"Dead?" Yuffie gasped.

"Appears to be..." He looked up to the castle up the stairs before pulling his sword out and rushing up following the trail of blood.

"Harry! Wait for me!" Yuffie yelled pulling out her weapon and Cait Sith hopping after the teens.

Inside, people were littering the ground. Mainly, it was Shinra guards and the two receptionists at the counters.

"... Sephiroth...?"

Harry examined one of the bodies. "No... Not him... they all were killed by a gun-type weapon."

Yuffie wandered closer to Harry, her tight grip holding her Boomerang. Suddenly they were alerted to the sound of pained moaning. The woman at the far right corner of the room stirred.

"What happened?" Harry yelled at her running to her aid.

"A man... with a gun-arm..." She then slumped, and the faint light that shined in her eyes went dull and lifeless. Harry frowned before moving his hand over her face, and closing her eyes.

"It couldn't be..."

"Hold it right there! And stay quiet!" A voice sounded from the entrance. The three turned towards the doors, as Gold Saucer security rushed in, followed by the Speedo-wearing-muscle-bound Dio.

"You guys did this!?"

"No, it wasn't us... we saw the dead guard outside and we rushed in... and found... found these guards dead..."

Suddenly Cait Sith yelled, "Hurry and run, it's gonna get ugly!"

Dio turned towards Cait Sith as he hopped away.

"Cait Sith!" Harry swore and chased after the cat, Yuffie quickly following the young man, as the guards gave chase. In the next room, it was a dungeon, with water under the steel supported battle platform. The lights in the water gave the liquid its purple hue and soft glow. Dio walked in and crossed his large arms over his chest.

"That's as far as you go."

"But wait it wasn't-"

Fingers snap.

"Harry..." Cait Sith's voice wavered fearfully. A fully armored Battle/Security Droid hopped out from the back entrance, as Cait Sith wandered back toward the two teenagers.

Another snap of fingers and two more dropped in and hopped onto the platform. The three hovered close as they were suddenly grabbed and held securely. The three robots each grapple the trio, before they were frog-marched towards another chamber.

"Hey! Pay attention!" Harry argued, however Dio ignored him. At his nod, the security man opened the gate and the droid took a leap into the hole following after Yuffie and Cait Sith.

"Good riddance... crimes can be paid for down below."

The gateway seals shut with a loud clang.

=0=0=

"Shit, what the hell..."

"Harry, are you alright?" Yuffie's voice came through, as Harry opened his eyes, wincing at the sunlight beating down. She helped him up, as Harry took a look around, seeing nothing but desert, ruins of old homes, and discarded machina vehicles like cars and the like.

"Yeah, I think I'm fine... are you alright?" He had concern in his eyes, and she nodded.

"Yes I'm okay Harry... but, the question is where we are. What is this place?"

"A desert prison," Cait Sith sighed, "Corel Prison: A natural prison in the middle of the desert, surrounded entirely by quicksand. Once you get in you can never get out... escaping the prison would only leave you at the mercy of sand worms and the deadly quicksand. I heard the few who tried to escape were never seen again."

"Well, just fucking great. You stupid cat! If you haven't panicked we wouldn't be in this mess!" Harry yelled.

"It's not my fault I though they we're going to arrest us anyway!"

"Harry, calm down! What's past is past... but now what are we going to do-" she was interrupted by the sound of a gun going off. The three turned to the sound, and there standing over a dead body was Barret.

Harry ran over, a hand on his sword as he confronted the man, Yuffie and Cait Sith following. "Barret..."

Barret turned around stunned before anger quickly flushed his face. "What the hell are you kids doin' here?"

"Did you kill those people?"

Barret suddenly backed away. "Stay back! This's something I gotta deal with. Jus' leave me alone." He then ran off into the prison yard, leaving the two teenagers stranded with Cait Sith.

"Fuck... now what?"

"Whew! That's one of your friends? Looks dangerous..."

"He's not acting normal... something's up."

"Harry... I think something was knocked loose in his head," Yuffie said.

They walked past the dead prisoner citizen as a guy behind them from a corner followed. Of course he was quickly knocked out by Yuffie bashing the man in the face. And so, the three had wandered through, the two teenagers easily mistaken as helpless until Yuffie displayed her ass-kicking abilities, ninja grace, and team work with Harry, and some help from Cait Sith and his Manipulation Materia, not to mention the occasional monster-related being that pops up from the ground in the prison yards.

"Damn mugging creeps," Yuffie muttered.

"Well, this blows."

"Yup," she agreed.

They found a rusted junk of a car half-buried in the hardened sand, and they sat down on the hood. She sighed softly, as Harry absentmindedly played with a lock of her hair, before his hand slowly moved down and caressed her cheek.

"We'll find a way out of here somehow Yuffie, I promise you that." She remained quiet, but he felt her head nod.

"We need some sort of plan, first of all," Harry told Yuffie, pulling out the PHS. After flipping the cover open, he dialed Cloud's number only to receive no signal. He cursed softly, "Well that blows..."

"Hey... what about that semi trailer over there?" Cait Sith pointed out. The two teens looked over, before looking at one another.

"It's worth a try..."

Getting up, the two head over with Cait Sith following. One guy was following them, but was left behind at the gate they passed when Yuffie flung the bottom of her Boomerang right up into the man's balls. Adding insult to injury, Harry "dusted" his boots over his face. However, the trio eventually returned back to the main yard of the prison. The guy inside didn't feel much like speaking to them, only giving the customary greeting to "Hell on Earth", and to get comfortable. They saw a house, and Harry led them inside if only to escape the unbearable heat that beated down upon them.

"This so blows," Yuffie muttered, collapsing onto the broken couch, wincing uncomfortably at the worn-down and flat cushions.

"I'm worried about Cloud and everybody else. Hell, they may not even know where we are," Harry told Yuffie, taking a seat next to her.

The two stayed silent, before Cait Sith jumped when they heard a creak.

"Hey... did you two hear that?"

"Must be the house... it IS old-looking," Harry told the animated cat.

The two were about to close their eyes when the front door was broken down, and in stormed Barret (it prompted Harry and Yuffie right into battle form).

"... Hey! Didn't I tell you not to come here!?" He yelled. They didn't know that there was a guy that crawled into the house through a hole in the back. He slowly took out a pocket knife, as he began to get up. Barret caught this movement, but the teens didn't as they were facing him off.

"Barret! Just hold on a second!" Harry yelled, as Barret lifted his gun-arm and took aim, the pincer snapping open to reveal a small gun barrel popping out. He threw himself into Yuffie and knocked her to the ground as gunshots rang out. Cait Sith jumped to hide as well in a panic. Harry held Yuffie down, shielding her, before they slowly realized they weren't being fired upon. When the gunfire ended, the thump of a body fell from behind the couch, which the two teenagers saw, and cringed when they realized they were vulnerable just then.

Barret turned around and sighed. "I didn't want none of ya to get involved..."

Then the other set of doors were broken in, as Cloud, Aerith, Tifa, Red XIII, and Cait Sith who had found them earlier rushed in. Cloud looked at Barret to the kids, and realized they were fine until he spotted the dead body behind the couch.

"Wasn't that one of Cloud's lines? It's too dangerous, can't get you involved?" Harry spoke up, shaking his head as Yuffie stayed close to the green-eyed swordsman, "A little too late for that as we're all together now..."

"But... you guys..."

"We were accused of helping murderers who attacked the Battle Arena when we were searching for Harry and Yuffie. There was a rumor about a guy with a gun-arm that had done the murders... was that you?" Red XIII asked.

"There's another..." Barret spoke up slowly, "another man that got a gun grafted inta one of his arms. It was four years ago..."

//FLASHBACK//

_"I remember... I was on my way home from visiting a Mako Reactor being built. Then it happened..."_

Barret and Dyne were traveling down a rail road track bridge, when the Head Village ran down the opposite way, in a panicked state.

"Barret! Dyne! The village! Being attacked by the Shinra!"

"WHAT!?"

They jumped off the bridge to the plateau land below and ran towards the edge. There, in the distance – which in four years would become the desert Corel Prison – was the town engulfed in flames, quickly spreading from the town to the local wildlife and forests around.

"What the hell happened?" Barret screamed, as Dyne stood by him not believing what he was seeing.

Barret fell to his knees in rage, before Dyne was snapped from his stupor by Barret's large fist slamming the ground.

"Hey, Barret! It's not over yet! Let's get back to the village quick!"

Suddenly they spun around hearing a gunshot, and the body of the Village Head hit the rails, blood pooling around.

"Barret... Dyne...... Go now... protect the village," he spoke using his last few breaths before death claimed his soul.

Shinra soldiers were blocking the path that would take them to the town. They saw the two men and open fired at them, as they ran for cover.

Dyne and Barret ran as Scarlet cackled, taunting them as the four soldiers continued pelting the men with gunfire. Dyne took out a gun and fired. The bullet struck the solder near Scarlet, his head snapping back from the shotgun's impact and blasting a hole in the cranium as the body fell off to the ground below.

"Stop playing around and cover me!" She snapped, as she took out her auto pistol and fired.

Dyne tripped but Barret grabbed him. She cackled as she and the three soldiers continued raining gunfire.

"Dyne! Listen! You're comin' back with me to the village! You hear me!?"

"I hear... I'm not lettin' go! Eleanor... Marlene, everyone! They all waitin' on us..."

The bullets slowly crept closer and Barret yelled in pain as the bullets tore into his arm and Dyne's. The man hanging lost his grip and he fell into the deep crevice.

"DYNE!" Barret screamed.

But Dyne disappeared into the darkness of the deep ravine. More gunshots rang out, and Barret had to fight the pain as he made his escape quickly from the firing Shinra guards and the cackling evil witch Scarlet.

//END FLASHBACK//

"From then on, I couldn't use my right arm no more... I had returned to the town, and found my wife shot dead... too many bullet wounds that she was unrecognizable, and it's the same with Eleanor. However, I found Marlene... buried in the stone cellar safe from the fire. I rescued her, safely wrapped in her pink blankets and escape the town to the mountains until I passed out. I was depressed for awhile when I woke up in the hospital... the arm prosthetic was put in while my amputated arm was buried in the ground. But after awhile I threw away my artificial arm and got this weapon adaptor grafted in."

He lifted his arm with the grafted gun adaptor.

"The weapon adaptor allowed me to make use of gun adaptive weapons to be attached to the stub of my arm..." He petted the weapon gently. The Atomic Scissors he still wore also had a hidden barrel gun inside the cervix of the claw-shaped pincer. Barret turned away and looked out the half open door window. "Got a new right arm to get revenge on the Shinra, who took everything away from me..."

He sighed a bit, taking a breath.

"You see," He turned to face the group, who were listening to Barret's story, "back then I heard the doc who gave me this weapon adaptor say there was another man who got the same operation as I. But, it was his left arm..."

"But... Dyne's injury was the same as yours, right?" Aerith asked out loud, "maybe he would like to join us in the fight with Shinra?"

"That's true. He was deceived by the Shinra too," Tifa spoke up.

Barret shook his head. "No, I doubt he would... I gotta 'pologize to Dyne before I can rest in peace. An' that's why I gotta do this alone."

"Do whatever you want... is that what you want to hear Barret? It's a little too late, because Im going with you, if only so you can be safe... if you die on me, I'm going to have nightmares."

"I agree too," said Harry with an involuntary shiver, "If he kills your ass I'm not about to go all the way back to Midgar so I can tell Marlene you kicked the bucket."

"Weren't you supposed to be saving the planet?" Tifa questioned her friend.

"Shit! Tifa, you oughta know that by now."

"... I understand what you're going through."

"That's easier to understand. It's you, Barret," Aerith spoke up.

Harry spoke up. "Well, that settles things. Cloud, Barret, and I shall go. The girls, Red, and Cait Sith I guess can remain here in the house as safety refuge... we should dump the dead body outside so it doesn't foul the place..."

"Sure are acting pretty heroic, considerin' we're not makin' any money on this," Yuffie said softly.

"Sometimes Yuffie... it's not always about the money..." he looked at her, "sometimes... fighting for what you believe for, fighting for others who cannot defend themselves, is reward enough."

No one else responded to that statement, as Harry left the house with the body dragged off to rot outside. Cloud and Barret left, as Barret took the lead and knew where Dyne would be hanging out at.

=0=0=

Gunshots rang out into the open air, as the three arrived. Barret held his gun arm out, silently telling the two to wait in the back and out of danger. He then walked up slowly.

"Dyne... is that you...?"

The man standing there, head bowed with his left gun arm in the air slowly looked up, as he lowered his weapon to his chest. He looked the same; however he was slightly aged, with a weary distant look in his eyes.

"Now that's a voice I haven't heard in years..."

Behind him was an open crevice in the ground, a split in the earth from an earthquake that rocked the area three years ago. There were two makeshift cross markings situated near the small canyon. What used to be a brick house was now in ruins, a made bed from scrap material, and other items, such as a massive cache of Shinra firearm.

"... A voice I'll never forget..."

The man slowly walked over, a light limp in his step before he faced off Barret.

"I always hoped I'd see ya again someday... I knew you had the same operation as I... alive somewhere in this world... listen, Dyne... I-"

Dyne lifted the gun and fired off a warning shot, prompting Barret to stop advancing.

"What's that...? I hear her voice..."

"...?"

"I hear her voice, Eleanor's voice. Begging me..." he whispered to himself, "she's begging me not to hate your rotting fucking guts." He looked down, smirking to himself, "it's why I didn't hunt you down like a scum-ridden dog."

"I know... I'm not askin' you to forgive me... but what're you doin' in a place like this? Why involve those who ain't even involved!?"

"Why!? The hell do you care for?" Dyne snapped angrily, looking up with hateful eyes, "are the people killed going to understand? Are the people of Corel going to understand just hearing Shinra's excuses?"

He lifted his weapon and crossed it over his torso. "I DON'T CARE WHAT THE REASON IS!" He slashed the barrel across the air, "all they give is artillery and stupid excuses. Left behind is a world full of despair and emptiness..."

Barret frowned more, as Dyne stared at him walking in a pace back and forth. "I'll tell you Barret... I want to destroy everything," BANG! "The people of this city... The city itself..." BANG!

He then looked at Barret, leveling his weapon at him.

-BANG!- "THE,"

-BANG!- "WHOLE,"

-BANG!- "WORLD!"

The last three shots impacted Barret, but he withstood the energy-like shots and the pain. He suddenly turned around and looked toward the sky, as the sun hid behind the large overhead of clouds. "I got nothing left in this world. Corel, Eleanor... Marlene... my little Marlene..." Tears leaked from his eyes.

"Dyne, but Marlene... Marlene's alive!" Barret yelled at him, "She's at Midgar! I went back into town... I thought she was gone for sure... then I found her. That's why I still remained by her side till the end..."

"..." Dyne was silent still.

"C'mon Dyne... we can go back to Midgar, together, to see her."

"So... she's still alive..." The tears still fell from his cold eyes, as his head bowed low... then slowly his head turned around, and they locked eyes as he turned to face him with a soft chuckle.

"Well... I guess that means... we have to fight..."

"What...?"

"Eleanor's alone by herself. I've got to take Marlene to her..."

"Are you fucking insane man!?"

"Doesn't she want to see her mother...?" Dyne asked with a slight creepy grin, and then open fired at him. Barret threw his arms up to shield his body best he could.

"Dyne! Stop! I don't wanna fight you!"

"Fight me Barret," Dyne spoke up, and then resumed gunfire, peppering Barret with plasmic gunfire, "My life's been over since, so I have nothing left."

"Barret!" Harry yelled.

"Harry no! This is my fight! My problem and I gotta take care of it by myself!"

Cloud held Harry back as the two ducked behind some piled automobile cars.

Barret suddenly unshielded and rushed forward ready to uppercut, forcing Dyne to duck out of harms way. He rolled up behind a fallen wall arch and fired off his "Needle Gun." Barret glowed as he launched a powerful blast of energy from his weapon, and the explosion in the end blasted Dyne away into a cache of weapons. His gun glowed in a blue electric aura before shimmering mini lasers pelted the car Barret hid behind. It struck the engine inside and he was blown away. Dyne chuckled as he lifted his gun, and fired off three fireball-encased mines. Barret swore as he pulled out a Hi-Potion and drank it before throwing the glass bottle. His injuries from the fast attack healed as Dyne was stumbling, some bits of glass in his eyes when it shattered. He rushed the man and punched him with the Atomic Scissors. Dyne fired at Barret with the S-Mines, as the big burly man crashed into the table of what remained of the other man's house. Barret rolled around and grabbed a nearby gun and chucked it, striking Dyne in the face. He bolted up, rushed over and slammed another uppercut right to the jaw before grabbing the same gun he fired, and pulled the trigger, that one explosive shot caught Dyne right in the chest.

"Ugh!" Dyne grunted as he collapsed to one knee; the last shot was a fatal hit.

Barret ran over to him, but Dyne yelled. "Stay back!"

Cloud and Harry walked into view again after the fight ended.

Dyne slowly forced himself up, blood pouring out from the wound.

"It wasn't just my arm back then..." He limped painfully to the wall that survived their onslaught, and leaned against the still sturdy structure, "back then Barret... I lost more than just an arm... my life was stripped from me by the Shinra... an irreplaceable thing taken from me. I just... just didn't know where I went wrong..."

"Dyne... I have no clue either... but this's the only way... the only way we can resolve our differences...?"

Dyne took a stuttering breath as he looked down, and his right hand fingered a locket hanging around his neck. "I told you... I want... to destroy everything..."

He groaned as he yanked the chain, and threw the locket at Barret. It glinted as the man caught tit and stared back at Dyne. "It was Eleanor's... my wife's... memento... make sure Marlene receives it..."

"Alright..." Barret spoke softly.

Dyne chuckled softly, closing his eyes, as the clouds slowly rolled on by, and sunlight soon poured in, causing all the silver on the two cross pikes to glitter innocently. "I can't believe... how old Marlene is..."

He limped towards the crevice, and suddenly choked on a sob while laughing. "Barret," he asked out loud, as he opened his eyes and more tears streamed down his face, "never," he turned to face him, a sad smile on his lips, "ever... make Marlene cry..."

"Dyne!"

"My hands are too stained to even hold her Barret... take care of her..."

"Dyne! Wait!" Barret yelled as he ran to him, but Dyne had taken a leap back and fell into the dark canyon below. Barret fell to his knees, just near the edge as Cloud and Harry watched on, their friend yelling out Dyne's name in a roar.

"Dyne... I shouldn't hold Marlene either... my hands aren't clean... we're the same..." He choked on a sob, before he screamed out to the heavens, his cry echoing across the canyon.

* * *

**We're reaching the end of the Gold Saucer events... the next chapter is the Chocobo Race to Freedom.**


	14. Chapter 14

**Harry Potter's Meteor Crisis**

**Disclaimer & Author's Note:** I do not own Harry Potter, any mentioned Harry Potter characters, and I do not own the characters of Final Fantasy VII or the series themselves. I do own whatever minor OCs that pop up as fillers, and this strange half-altered novelization plotline.

I also for some reason included WWE Hall of Famer Howard Finkle as the "announcer" of the Chocobo Races, so yeah... he owns himself and I do not. Really, when this was written out, I just can hear his voice explaining the race in detail in the back of my mind. It was weird. o,o

* * *

**CHAPTER FOURTEEN**

Barret and the others were crowding in some sort of slums office the next day. After the fight with Dyne, Barret erected a hastily-made cross for Dyne, before he left to return to the Coral Prison Yard. The crooks in the yard all gave room for the burly man, as everybody in the prison had heard the gun fight. Barret hadn't said another word since. Now, inside that office (if it could be called an office) was a white haired man with dark skin, wearing a ragged and dusty green dress slacks, coat, and black boots.

"I'm Mr. Coates... you want somethin'?"

Barret simply pointed a finger to the ceiling. "I want up."

"I'm sorry, but you can't do that. First you'll need the Boss' permission then win the Chocobo-"

"Dyne's got his reasons an' can't speak," Barret interrupted the man, "so I got this." He pulled out Dyne's locket, "Up."

"Right... so, did you kill Dyne? Otherwise you wouldn't be holdin' that locket of his..." He sighed as he sat down in his chair, "so... he's finally dead... maybe now this place will calm the hell down... of course he never gave a damn at all-"

"The hell do you know!?" Barret yelled, grabbing Mr. Cortes.

"NO! I didn't mean it like that! I mean, I don't know shit! S... sorry!"

Barret grumbled and let Cortes go, as he straightened himself out.

"So, how do we go up then?" Harry questioned.

"Oh boy, you guys don't even know. The only way to leave is to win the Chocobo Race, up at the Gold Saucer. Also, only one racer at a time."

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN!?" Barret snapped grabbing the guy again, who panicked. He then went on saying that it was a golden rule, and if he bended it chaos will erupt even if threatened. After a bit he conceded and allowed only one of the members to go up, but then he or she would have to deal with Dio. And then, she arrived.

"Sorry, heard what y'all were saying, and I thought I could help you out," a woman's voice cut as Aerith and Tifa who stood by the door stepped out of the way of a woman wearing a pink frilly-like dress. The way she looked reminded Harry of this woman he once knew, a person who went by the name Rita Skeeter. Of course unlike Rita Skeeter (who had inch-long nails and crocodile-skinned purse), the woman who introduced herself as Ester wore ruby red slippers, had a yellow bow tied around her waist from behind, and had a shoulder length curly golden brown hair.

"Hm... Harry, why don't you go?"

"Eh?"

"Yeah, hurry up and win that race so we'd get the hell outta here," Yuffie told him with a smile, still clasping his arm.

"Well... alright, fine I'll go," Harry gave in after a though.

"If you have decided then... I'll be your manager, and also register you a Chocobo. I am the best manager in Gold Saucer."

Mr. Cortes nodded slowly. "That is true. She may look kinda funny, but she is the best the Gold Saucer has seen."

"Oh, that was just rude of you," She snapped, before turning towards Harry, "well sugar, if you're ready, we'll head to the elevator and up to the jockey lounge. There's a screen that turns on when a person earns his right to gain freedom via racing, however this will be a rare event and those in the prison will want to watch."

"Uh... sure thing..." Harry sweatdropped slightly, as Yuffie chuckled. Before Harry left, he unstrapped his sword and strapped it onto Yuffie.

"Why does he entrust his sword to you?" Barret asked. Yuffie just shrugged.

Suddenly, a person with blonde hair and chocolate brown spiky locks fringing over his left eye walked in.

"Excuse me, are you the Potter group?"

Cloud stepped up. "We know Harry Potter, yes."

"Ah, please follow me. Mr. Dio asked me to retrieve you and bring you to the VIP lounge to freshen up your clothing and... Pardon me, bathe, and also get some sustenance."

"Why would Dio do this?"

"People who go into Chocobo races to earn their freedom, Dio will always treat the person's friends fairly. Also, I think he feels a bit sorry for what has happened a day ago."

Over by the elevator, Ester was fully explaining the mechanics of Chocobo Racing, while Harry was asking any questions she was able to answer to the best of her ability. Upon reaching the lounge, Harry was told to wait while she went to got everything ready for him. That allowed him to meet several of the regulars of the lounge, including a man named Joe.

=0=0=

The box was huge inside, with a plush black couch and matching leather armchairs arranged to view the racetrack. Monitors were perched in the corners of the room to allow for better viewing of the entire race and an elaborate control system directed the room's temperature, calls for service, as well as controlled the televisions and a hidden stereo system. Presently, the televisions were displaying race data for all the jockeys of the previous race. Colin directed a huge serving cart to be brought into the back of the room where its operator offered them bottled water, soda, a myriad of hot and cold snacks, and alcohol of every kind. They had their spare clothes changed into from two different bathrooms while their dirty clothes were right away getting cleaned.

"Now this is good," Yuffie said, lounging one couch and munching down a pizza.

On the screen, it was showing a display of the next race and the racers. Harry Potter in blue was numbered 30. His Chocobo was one of the standard breeds, named Ravishing Ryan. Next was David Abbott, number 12 red, Chocobo named The Godfather. Rebecca Zobell, number 16 pink, Chocobo named Memory. Joe, number 7 white, Black Chocobo named Teioh. Cameron Hardy, number 10 violet, Azure-blue Chocobo named Just Shoot Me. And Hachem Seed, number 20 green, Chocobo named Gold Chan.

A knock on the door and Colin went over and opened it before leaving, taking the basket hampers of the group's clothing to be cleaned by the washers.

"Any bets?" asked the man with greasy black hair, onyx colored eyes, and a crooked nose, "as you can see on the screen incase you are confused, the higher the number means the less you can win, unless you're incredibly lucky. The lower the number the less likely you will lose the bet placed. But all bets are a game of chance."

They looked at him apathetically until Barret reached over the back of the couch and handed him a small stack of bills. "Thirty in first."

The bookie cocked an intrigued eyebrow and happily removed the money from Barret's hand and made a small note in his book.

"I can see you have a taste for tough bets," he acknowledged with a tone as greasy as his shoulder-length hair, "That's quite a long shot but if it happened to be your lucky day... the payoff would be astronomical..."

"Really... same here: Thirty in first." Tifa produced her set of Gil payment. Yuffie followed up, with Aerith and Cloud following.

The Severus Snape clone left looking very pleased, while he made furious little notes on the pad of paper he was carrying. As the door closed the loudspeakers blared to life around them. The jockeys came out onto the track in a neat line based on their starting positions.

The six jockeys were introduced before Harry's Chocobo came cantering up to the center position, jerking him about as he tried to remain balanced on the rather nervous bird. The silk jacket and cap the teenager had been provided with were blue and bared the Gold Saucer's logo. Inside the box, Barret and the others chuckled slightly at how Harry's unruly hair was escaping mutinously out from under the jockey's cap.

_"Ladies and gentlemen, my name is Howard Finkle, and welcome to the Gold Saucer's Chocobo Race! Now ladies and gentle, prepare to bet and race!"_

The Chocobos took their places at the gate, waiting anxiously for the starting bell. Harry noticed that R. Ryan was a little fidgety. He calmed it with a small pet, and the bird stopped being all fidgety. Running some words of encouragement words over again in his mind quelled some of his nervousness. A bell rang loudly behind him and the gate burst open in front of him. Ryan lunged forward with all the other birds, completing the rainbow of frenzied feathers and jockeys.

_"And they're off! Ravishing Ryan has sprinted ahead at the bell, being placed first, followed by Teioh, followed by Just Shoot Me, followed by The Godfather, followed by Memory, and lastly by Gold Chan!"_

Inside the VIP box, AVALANCHE was cheering madly. Harry and Ravishing Ryan were up against Joe and Teioh, who had soon fallen behind Just Shoot Me and Memory, with Gold Chan still last and catching up to The Godfather who had fell a place below.

"C'mon Harry!" Yuffie cheered, with the girls screaming behind Yuffie. Barret and Cloud cheered on as well, the black man nearly crushing the beer he had in his hand.

The cheering inside the lounge had risen to frenzied shouts; the two Chocobos in the lead were blocking Joe and Teioh from taking a huge sprint ahead of the pack as they had knocked Harry and Ravishing Ryan back. As the Chocobos in the center part of the pack battled to get ahead of each other, they were slowly wearing out. Harry and R. Ryan, along with the Chocobo Just Shoot Me were steadily racing at the back end of the pack, while the Chocobo that stumbled, Gold Chan seemed to have given up on placing and was running leisurely behind them (despite his rider complaining).

_"The pack turns into the home stretch! Teioh still blocked from the front by Memory and The Godfather; he's going to have a hard time as Teioh's a notorious inside-runner! Here comes the final push! Ravishing Ryan and Just Shoot Me come charging up from the back!"_

Sure enough, all the Chocobos had abandoned their blocks and picked up the pace as the finish line became visible around the final bend. Harry and Ryan kicked up the speed as they pushed into the pack, past Just Shoot Me. Suddenly, a gap opened and Harry took that chance. Ryan sensed it and rushed on forward and leaning low against his sun-colored neck. Ravishing Ryan seemed to gratefully accept the command to finally sprint and started gaining ground on the leaders.

_"Oh my god! Ravishing Ryan is right behind the leaders from the back! Ravishing Ryan's going for it! He's in the money!"_

Harry was neck and neck with Joe and Teioh. Joe's midnight black chocobo pressed towards the inside rail, hoping to squeeze around The Godfather on the inside. Ryan seemed to know that he couldn't make it with The Godfather purposely hanging onto the rail so he shot around him on the outside edged and lowered her head in the final paces to the finish line.

_"It's Ravishing Ryan and The Godfather! Ravishing Ryan and The Godfather! Oh my god, folks, gonna be a photo finish!"_

AVALANCHE leaned in their seats and over the couches, near hysterics as Harry pushed Ryan forward with the last bit of stamina. He glanced at The Godfather's rider, who glanced back before they focused on the race again. They saw the finish line and the photo shot off as they crossed it.

Inside the booth, the team cheered wildly, as Ravishing Ryan crossed it first by the beak just seconds with The Godfather in second.

_"Ladies and gentlemen! Here is your winner!"_

"Wow... Harry actually won!" Yuffie laughed as the bets they had made with everything they owned returned with a ridiculous amount of Gil.

"We're fuckin' rich!" Barret yelled.

Cameras flashed from the regular stands above them as Harry and Ryan, followed by The Godfather and Teioh were led to the winners' circle, where each Chocobo was laden with a ring of flowers. Ryan cooed happily as reporters and Gold Saucer officials crowded around him and his novice rider.

=0=0=

"Wow Harry, congratulations! I'm sorry but Dio wasn't able to come himself, but he left me a letter for you to read."

Harry opened the letter she handed him and read the contents to himself.

_Dear Boy,_

_Congratulations on a victory well deserved. Your racing skills were highly impressive and if you continue winning races so spectacularly you could easily be our next star jockey. Mr. Coates and Ms. Ester have informed me about Dyne's rampage and how you so heroically put an end to such a violent problem and, now that you are victorious, I grant you and your friends a full pardon._

_In addition, by way of apology, I've prepared a gift for you and your friends that will aide you on your travels as well as a free stay in the presidential suite with an assistant who will make sure you are taken care of. I apologize for not being able to present this gift to you in person, but I am a very busy man. If you ever need anything, please do not hesitate to ask._

_Sincerely,_

_Dio_

"Harry, I must say this is the first time I ever met anyone who could come from the prison yard in a day and win first place just like that. Whenever y'all wanna race, you just come back to me. Tell the front desk at the Chocobo Square you want to speak with Ester, and I'll get registrations done for you and your Chocobo."

Suddenly the PHS rang, and he answered it.

"_Harry! You won! You won! The Colin guy who escorted us up here to a VIP area told us Dio was giving us a Buggy! It's amazing! You did so well! Now hurry up and meet us here in the VIP lounge so we can go. Later babe!"_

Harry blushed when Yuffie called him babe. "What's a Buggy?"

"Oh, it's one of the new automobiles that those who are worthy of freedom get from the Gold Saucer as a full pardon and apology. It'll help travel through the sandy area of Corel and you'll also be able to easily drive over the quicksand. Also, it's useful for traveling across rivers when the land is slightly even or elevated to the running water. I wouldn't try crossing the ocean on it though." She laughed a bit.

"Ah, I see." They had returned back to the jockey lounge, where another guide waited to take Harry to his friends.

"Well, this is where we part until next time. Don't forget about me now." She waved good bye and left.

"Harry, wait!" He turned and saw Joe running up to him, "here, you can take this."

He was given a summon Materia for Ramuh.

"No, it's alright. You really impressed me today. So you deserve it. Until we race again."

With a regal bow he walked away, as the group at the poker table ignored him. He smiled and saluted the man with a lazy wave of his fingers as he left with the escort to meet his team at their VIP booth. As he waked, many people were looking at him, whispering and some applauding Harry. Few even whooped and hollowed with cheers. Already Harry knew he was getting popular at the Gold Saucer.

Harry took out the letter, as he noticed more writing written at the bottom of the paper.

_P.S._

_I just recently met Sephiroth. He must have a lot of fans your age, huh? Anyway, you should try and get an autograph from him. He appeared to be heading to the south of the river from here, heading towards Gongaga, I believe. Take care, kid._

Harry folds the letter and puts it back into his pocket.

_Sephiroth... Heading towards Gongaga...?_ Harry's thoughts instantly raced to the couple who had taken care of him until his departure, _I wonder how they are...?_

=0=0=

"I still can't believe you bet against me? Have you no faith on one Mr. Harry James Potter?"

"Of course babe," Yuffie said, "you were the underdog, and underdogs are mostly betted with good amounts and all that."

Harry pouted, but a bit of comfort cooled him down as they climbed into the all-terrain vehicle upon reaching the Prison Yard where the Buggy waited with Mr. Cortes tossing the key towards Cloud. Free from walking, traveling time would be cut shorter with the Buggy. Cloud took control of the driving as Barret sat in the front passenger seat. Aerith and Tifa sat in the middle seat, with the large leg room allowing Red XIII to lie down and relax. In the back seat were Harry who was lying back with Yuffie asleep in his arms, and Cait Sith in the other seat. The large mog wouldn't fit inside so it was sitting in the open back trunk guarding the group's weapons. Harry's weapon however was resting on the floor within arm's reach.

"Look at those two... they look like they're dating," Aerith cooed over the sleeping teenagers. Both of the teens were both comfortable, a hint of a smile on Harry and Yuffie's faces.

Barret looked back. "Never know where you find love, that's fer sure."

"Yup, too bad they just have a fling with each other, what with their benefits for one another," Cait Sith spoke up polishing his crown. Cloud who was taking a sip from his soda sputtered and quickly gained control of the wheel.

"What was that? I didn't hear."

"Uh... do they have a friends with benefits thing?" Cait Sith asked nervously.

"I doubt it. We've been traveling for only about three weeks or so, not counting the minor misadventures we get ourselves dragged into along the way."

Red XIII shook his head a bit before scratching behind his ear briefly. "Can we talk about something else?"

"Eh..."

Cloud had finally managed to drive out of the desert past the quicksand areas, as they headed onto lush green sceneries after finding a road to drive down.

"Hey, who's that over there?"

Aerith peered out the window and gasped. "Hey, that guy's getting attacked!"

Cloud saw this and turned, and put the gas petal down, and the Buggy drove off fast toward the side of the beach-like areas hanging off the needle land cropping near the desert area. Cloud then braked, and Harry and Yuffie yelped falling off their seat.

"What the hell!?" They yelled.

"Monsters attacking a fisherman," Cloud said before opening the front doors. Tifa opened the side door and they all climbed out.

"Here!" Cait Sith yelled, throwing his Manipulation Materia at Harry, who caught it and slotted the gem. Harry had his sword on him so he rushed ahead and began attacking the first few tentacle-like monsters within spiky odd shelled body.

"Manipulate!" Harry yelled, sending its magical charm over the few tentacled enemies. Only one out of the five he wanted to charm fell under.

The status of the enemy, the name (Beach Plug) and what monster abilities it had (Big Guard, Bite, Ice) slipped into his mind, just as Cloud and the others arrived.

"Big Guard!" Harry called. The teal aura charmed over the controlled monster generated powerful blasts of light surrounding the team. The Enemy Skill Materias flashed, registering the skills.

"Shit!" Barret yelled as the group were surrounded by a Barrier, M-Barrier, and had Haste casted upon them. Of course his outburst came from the Zemzelett that flew down blasting black winds at the team. The barrier lessened the damages.

"Zemzelett!? They're mostly seen around Junon back in the eastern continent! What the hell is it doing here?"

"Shit!" Harry swore as the team spread out to kill the Beach Plugs that were swarming the beach. The foreign native Zemzelett screeched and released a blast of dark wind gusts. Aerith's Materia flared before casting a Fira spell at the overgrown bird.

"Manipulate!" Harry called out, as the Zemzelett was charmed under his power. Three more Beach Plugs stormed from the sea, as Cloud and Barret stood by the downed and injured fisherman, and casted spells form their slotted Materia. The enemies shriveled to death, and the third was cut down by Yuffie's Boomerang.

He then felt the information from the Zemzelett enter his mind, and noticed White Wind was a healing spell, and would purge most negative and positive status inflictions from party members whilst healing a portion of their injuries and health.

"Use White Wind, then fly out to the ocean until the spell wears off," Harry ordered. The giant bird screeched as it flapped its wings, and cotton whirlwinds surrounded them, brushing their bodies and healing any injuries they got from battling the swarm, and also destroying the Haste status.

Like Big Guard, White Wind was registered to their Enemy Skill Materias. Then acting on the second orders, it flew away off into the ocean.

"Oh, thank you very much," the man said, before he grabbed what he fished and ran off to a beach shack he had nearby.

The group was left with an Enemy Lure Materia. "I guess this is why he was attacked. Tried using it to gather more fish and instead caught a swarm of Beach Plugs."

"This will only work when it's slot in. It however decreases the luck of evading enemies..."

"But look at how bright it is," Yuffie said fingering the orb, before Harry snatched it.

"Let's not use it... unless we like to attract everything but the kitchen sink," he reasoned. Yuffie pouted a bit as Harry puts it into his pocket, and they return to the Buggy, and drive off again.

It was later when Harry's PHS rang just as they were starting to drive out of the Corel area and reaching the south river bend. He grabbed it after Yuffie sat up off Harry and answered.

"Hello?"

_"Is this Mr. Harry Potter speaking?"_

"Yes?"

_"I'm from the Gold Saucer, calling about the Random Luck Draw Contest."_

"Oh... right, I forgot I entered it... but it was merely a good laugh since I doubt I'd have won anything..." Harry listened for a bit, before he bellowed, "I WON A BLACK CHOCOBO!?" His loud shout make Cloud slam the brakes on the Buggy. Red who was the animal of the group crashed up to the front. Barret couldn't help but make a crack.

"Jeez, Red, buckle up."

=0=0=

Harry rushed off the tram as soon as it docked, and into the Gold Saucer bypassing the ticket booths. The gang followed, Yuffie showing the Lifetime Pass quickly, as Harry rushed until he reached the Chocobo Square, where the person on the cell told him to go to. Waiting for him was Ester.

"Hello again, Harry. By golly, when I was told that the man I managed won the Random Luck Draw Contest, and won this beautiful Black Chocobo, I was just so stunned, dear."

"So was I," Harry said, as the black feathered, green-eyed Chocobo walked up to him, before she cooed and nuzzled Harry. He smiled a bit.

"Yeah kid," said the person who managed the contest, "she's all yours. She's a fine and healthy female Chocobo. She's got racing blood in her, so if you ever like to race again..." He grinned, and left the group with the Black Chocobo.

"Lily... I'll name you Lily."

She chirped, liking the name.

"Excuse me, Ester, but, my friends and I are on a bit of a travel, looking for a man... can you watch Lily for me until then?"

"You know what, I'll do better. I have a friend who owes me a favor. He runs this Chocobo Ranch in the Midgar continent. I'll have him take care of Lily here for you until then."

"Choco Bill? I guess that will work." He hugged Lily, who cooed again.

"Jeez... a Black Chocobo..."

"One of the rarer breeds," Red spoke up.

"So, should we get back to finding Gongaga, then?"

Harry looked over. "I know where Gongaga is..."

=0=0=

The Buggy stopped outside a thick forest near some mountain area. Harry climbed out of the Buggy, and took in a deep breath.

"Back home," he whispered.

"You lived here, Harry?"

"Temporarily... I woke up on the shores from Gongaga, and an old couple found me, and took care of me, Yuffie," Harry explained, "They also have a Mako Reactor here."

"A Mako Reactor?" Barret asked.

"Yeah... but it's in ruins. From what my adopted mother told me, there was a massive explosion, and it destroyed half of Gongaga. It was bigger in the past than it is today. Now, what remained of Gongaga, the people there just live on with what they have..."

"Know the way through this forest then?"

"Yeah."

He led them through the forest, all of them packed up.

"We use the forests as a means of protection, but since the destruction of the reactor, monsters lurk here. Mostly mutated insects, but the Reactor Ruins were forbidden, even by the children of the village. There was a very dangerous monster that was mutated by the explosion. From what father told me, the machinery has taken a biological form, fusing with several of the wildlife. One of them was a triceratops. It was dubbed a Heavy Tank. The triceratops is fused by the middle of its body to an old Shinra war tank that was used in the Wutai war."

Yuffie clenched her fist a bit hearing the reference. Harry shot her an apologetic look.

"Anyway... it's a dangerous creature and it doesn't leave the ruins... however it will kill anything that lingers into the area."

As Harry led them through the forest, and onto an open dirt road, they stopped. Up ahead of them were a group of familiar people: the Turks.

* * *

**Poll is closed... and tallying up the votes, time to work on Hermione's character more. I already have her Materia, Armoring, Accessories, and weapon all planned out now. Her character's outfit was already described a few chapters back. Now, time to enjoy as we have another character join the group in the next few chapters. Also, our next chapter will have a bit of detail describing Harry's short time living in Gongaga with this "old couple".**


	15. Chapter 15

**Harry Potter's Meteor Crisis**

**Disclaimer & Author's Note:** I do not own Harry Potter, any mentioned Harry Potter characters, and I do not own the characters of Final Fantasy VII or the series themselves. I do own whatever minor OCs that pop up as fillers, and this strange half-altered novelization plotline. Well, I am back! I finally got outta 'dis funk... that and I finally got away with my busy schedule with life to resume work on this. Hehehehe... well, time to get back to this. Please! PLEASE! Review! XD

* * *

**CHAPTER FIFTEEN**

The group hid behind a large fell tree. However, Reno and Rude did not notice the group, as they were having a bit of an odd discussion.

"C'mon... so, who do you like?"

Rude looked away, before muttering something.

"Eh?"

"... Tifa."

"Whoa..." Reno snickered a bit, "that's a tough one..."

Harry glanced over at Tifa, who was rather stunned.

"But you and Elena..."

"No... She likes Tseng," Rude informed Reno.

Harry's right fist clenched a bit, as his heart stung a little.

"Really...? But doesn't Tseng like that Ancient, uh, Aerith, was it?"

Now it was Aerith's turn to blink.

Rude merely shrugs.

"Hello, Harry," spoke a voice behind the group. Harry and company whirled around, seeing Elena standing there, but she was looking at Harry more than the rest of AVALANCHE. Yuffie was looking back and forth between the two.

_They know each other?_ She thought.

"Hey, Elena..."

The two stared at one another, before Elena ran from them.

"Reno! Rune! They arrived!"

Harry jumped over the large trunk, shouting. "Elena! Wait!"

Elena turned to look at Harry. "Harry... I'm really sorry... it had to end this way..."

"Elena... isn't there a way we can... settle things?"

She shook her head.

"Sorry Harry, but I am part of the Turks now... I have a job to do... next time we do meet..." But the words died in her throat. Harry however understood. Former lovers or not... both were on different sides.

"I wish it didn't have to come down to this, Elena," he said regrettably.

"I know," Elena whispered, before looking at Reno and Rude, "I'm reporting to Tseng."

Then she runs off down another path. Harry went to give chase but Reno blocked his path with his weapon.

"So... you and Elena, huh kid?"

Harry backed away, as Cloud and Barret joined him.

"We were lovers at one time," he said. Yuffie with the two girls blinked.

_Lovers, huh?_ Yuffie thought, interested for some reason.

"Really? Huh... learn something new everyday," Reno mused with a smile, before gazing at Rude, "Now... don't go easy on them even if the girls butt in."

"I'll do my job," he replied.

Harry grasped Gryffindor Sword and pulls it free, but Reno blocked the swing with his weapon.

"May not be a sword but it works well enough, kid. I took some lessons... I'm not the same Reno you fought in Sector 7."

"Just get out of our way," Harry shouts.

"Not a chance," the redhead responds with a grin.

As Harry backed from a swipe by Reno, Rude stood in the way of Barret and Cloud, cracking his knuckles threateningly. Barret took first hit but Rude ducked and sent a high-end kick sending Barret sprawling. He leaps out from Cloud's attack. Meanwhile Harry and Reno were fighting off one another, the clangs echoing every time their metal weapons clashed.

"So… you look like you'd be a candidate for SOLDIER," said Reno as their weapons locked.

"Was asked to join before but I declined. I have my reasons," Harry told the redhead.

He swung, but Reno back flipped and slashed his rod, releasing a fireball of electricity. Harry jumped over easily, and bounded for Reno. Reno fired another Turk Light attack, but Harry summoned a Big Guard, protecting himself. Under faster movement, he rushed Reno and struck the man with a kick. Reno grunted, before catching Harry in a feint, and clocked the teen upside the head. The boomerang crossing his vision made him back away. Yuffie caught her weapon leaping in front of Harry.

"You okay?"

"Peachy," he replied, gripping the handle again.

"Need your girlfriend to fight, huh? No matter. The more the merrier."

He rushes Yuffie, who jumped and with her free hand flung a pair of shuriken. Reno saw this and immediately ducked, but one got him in the leg. Wincing, he yanks it out, and fights through the pain as he dodged the boomerang only for Harry to come right up at him with a swing of his blade. Tifa and Rude were meanwhile interlocked in a duel of fisticuffs. No matter what Tifa did, Rude would match her punch and kick. On the other hand, Tifa was feeling oddly praised at how well Rude was keeping up with her.

"You're pretty good," Tifa said.

"Thanks," he responds, blocking a punch aimed to the head and retaliates with a swift axe kick, one which Tifa blocked with a kick of her own, "I learned from the best. Zangan."

"I see," was her response, back flipping (and almost catching him with the Somersault move) to allow Cloud to deal out a Blizzara spell. Stumbling back, Barret grinned as he landed a left uppercut to Rude's jaw. Rude grimaced, as he popped his jaw back in place. It stung a bit. The man backed away from a sword strike by Cloud. Reno was flung back by Yuffie's boomerang and he lands right at Rude's feet. Helping himself up, the group focused on the two men. The two Turks decided to cut losses and run, but not after casting a Fire spell as a mere distraction in order to escape. Harry blew from his mouth, and sheathed the sword again.

"Wasn't too bad," he muttered.

The boomerang was expertly strapped around her back, as Yuffie gazed over at Harry.

"You okay?"

"Not that badly hurt."

Aerith rushed over, as she stayed back during the scuffle.

"What about Reno and Rude?"

"Leave them..."

"So, what now?" Barret spoke up.

Harry started walking. "I know where the village is. Follow me, guys."

The others followed the teen, as he led them through the forest until they exited onto another wide path made into the dirt. It splits at a Y. Harry instinctively took the right path. Eventually, Harry and the group stops at the foot of the village.

_I'm back..._

"Harry... is this...?"

He nods. "Yes, Tifa... this is where I ended up when I washed ashore on the beach away from here."

"Harry, is that you?" whispers an old man. Harry turned to face the man.

"Ah, hello... it's been awhile," he said, as the old man walked from a tombstone of the village's cemetery.

The old man chuckled a bit. "You have certainly gotten stronger. I can tell just by the look of your eyes," he says, before he glances past him, "are they your friends?"

"Oh, yes they are. We're traveling, chasing after Sephiroth... uh... old man, are... are my adoptive parents still here?"

"Oh yes. They would never leave this village, even though last year, half of us did. Only few remain here, now, Harry... the monster attacks are getting more frequent and they're even sneaking into the village at night. It's become dangerous..."

He turned back, and gave a weary sigh.

"Two weeks ago some monsters attacked... many of the village children were killed..."

Harry's heart felt like it was being squeezed. The others all looks uncomfortable hearing this bit of information.

"Harry... I am so glad you've returned. I can finally uphold Marylyn's promise." He reached into his pocket, and pulled out a Materia stone. A red stone.

Harry gasped. "She's dead?" he asked, his voice getting weak.

The man placed the orb into Harry's hand, and forced his fingers to clutch the item tight. "She sacrificed her life trying to rescue the other children that weren't killed, from being dragged away..."

A tear left his eye, as he squeezed the Materia in his hand. He walked into the cemetery, his eyes scanning each headstone before his eyes laid upon one, the top half of the stone crafted in her image with the wings of an angel. He drops to his knees before the headstone, and his fingers moved against the crafted words etched into the makeshift stone.

"Let him have some time alone," the old man whispers to the teen's friends, beckoning them to follow.

"Who's Marylyn?"

"The one responsible for helping in Harry's recovery when a few of us fishermen found him on the beach with the couple that took care of him. And, even though Harry never knew, she had fallen in love with him. It's... sad... that she would never be able to tell Harry those three simple words..."

"... Did Harry know?" Yuffie spoke up.

The old man gave a simple shrug, the group stopping in front of a small but comfortable-looking home.

"I wouldn't know, lass. I wouldn't know... we'll, here we are. This is the home where Harry's adoptive parents live. If you will excuse me, please..."

With a half-hearten wave, the old man shuffles away, heading towards his small little house built by the edge of the cliff. Cloud gave a polite knock on the front door. The person who answered the door was a woman.

"Yes, can I help- AH! Zack? Zack, is that you?"

Aerith flinched a bit, although from her position in the back of the group, no one noticed her reaction to the name.

"Oh... no... My name's Cloud."

"Oh..." the woman visibly deflated, "you looked like him... I apologize."

"Are you the couple who took care of Harry?' Tifa asked.

"Harry? He's here?"

The busty brunette glances over to the village's cemetery, where Harry still sat in front of one tombstone. The woman sighed.

"I guess he found out about Marylyn... so, you are his friends?"

"Yes, we are. We're traveling with him."

The woman smiled a bit. "At least he's recovered. Well... come on in."

She invites the group into her home.

Elsewhere, away from the village, a helicopter waited.

"It's no use," said a woman in red, "the Materia here is all nothin' but shitty crap." The woman, Scarlet, grunts in frustration. "Alright, we're moving out!"

"Scarlet... I got word from Elena... Cloud and his group were spotted near here."

She glances at Tseng where he sat as pilot of the chopper.

"What of Reno and Rude?"

"Either they're taking care of the problem, or knowing Cloud, he and his friends may have fought the two to a stalemate. Even if we look for them, they may have left the area already. I already gave Elena her orders to relay to the two."

"Harrumph... whatever... let's just head back to Shinra Headquarters. I need to find out more about the teams that are working on Stage One of the plan."

Tseng said nothing else as he started the chopper's rotors. Eventually, the chopper lifts up, and it begins to take flight and leave the area. As it flies over the ocean, Scarlet was extremely lucky she was not slaughtered, as golden eyes watched the craft fade into the distance from where it hid. Back in the village, Harry looked up to hearing footfalls.

"Aerith?"

She was silent.

He stood up and walked up to her.

"Aerith?" A gentle nudge and she flinched, "Oh... Harry... s-sorry, Harry," she apologized, "I just... well... I just phased out a bit."

"Ah," was his response.

"... You okay?" the flower girl questioned, concern lingering in her voice.

Harry looks back at Marylyn's tombstone. "... I knew she loved me... but... but I was afraid back then... I was afraid to falling in love with somebody."

The teen walks back over to her grave and kneeling before it, his fingers trail over the engraving of her name into the stone.

"What about you, Aerith? You looked disturbed earlier."

"... My boyfriend," she confessed.

"Boyfriend?"

"He was once from here... well, I doubt I could call him a boyfriend... more like a huge crush. I didn't really get a chance to say my feelings to him when he disappeared."

"I see... what was his name?"

"Zack," she answered.

Harry and Aerith looked at one another, before he pulls her into a hug. She closed her eyes, hugging Harry back, as the two drop to their knees.

"When you and Cloud dropped in on me in the church back in Midgar... Cloud seems to remind me of Zack... but you... you have his energetic personality... not to mention, you also have the Dash Materia. It was something he had always."

"Well... when I went to travel... I went through the Corel Mountains, well, not the way we took to Barret's town, I found this nestled under some rocks in a deep river, covered in slime and mud... when I tripped into it..."

He lifted his pant leg, showing the glittering pink-purple Materia.

"I've had it since... it's been very useful for me. When I found it, it was half mastered, in fact."

"... Maybe it could be his," she mused, feeling the glittering orb.

He stood, and he helps the flower girl off the dirt ground of the graveyard. He looks around now, taking a more in-depth look at Gongaga, or... what was now a smaller village of the once bustling town. When he washed ashore, the town was livelier with the children's laughs. Now... there were no cheer, no laughter... just decay, solemn, sorrow, and anxiousness. He was now beginning to miss the sounds of the children that called him "big brother".

"Aerith? Harry?"

The two turn to face their friends.

"You alright?" Cloud asks.

"I'm fine," she said, offering a smile, "Don't worry about me..."

"Hey, Harry..." Tifa glanced at the couple at the house. Harry smiled sadly, before he quickly ran over to them, and threw his arms around the couple. They hugged him back.

"It's nice to see you again... you're friends are a rough-looking group," Mr. Fair told Harry.

"They're a nice bunch of friends; trust me... if anything, I'm glad I have them."

They released one another, but then Harry walked past them, and stood over the cliff. His gaze was on the ruined reactor in the far distance.

"Do they still cause trouble for the village?"

"Even with the few Materia we are able to safely harvest from that damned thing," Mr. Fair explained, "still... they're bold... now, we simply have a strict curfew of seven P.M. locking all doors and barring all windows."

Harry clenches his fists.

"And the demon is still there... isn't it?"

"Yes," was Mr. Fair's weary sigh, "it still roams... and if possible, even stronger... no doubt with the leftover mako or Materia in that ruined scrap heap..."

"Did they... say who they are?"

"No..."

"We're fighting against Shinra, and saving the planet itself... we are AVALANCHE, and we're making sure Shinra doesn't do any more harm against the weak."

He gave a small smile. "And... that's why I'm with them..."

Mrs. Fair laid a hand on his shoulder.

"You can do whatever you want, and I wouldn't care, Harry, as long as you live your life to the fullest..."

His smile grew warm.

"I know," he whispers.

But his smile disappeared, as he once again looks out to the ruined Gongaga Mako Reactor. There, within the ruins of the metal, he saw a flash of dark teal.

"I'm going to slay it," he said, and turned around and marched towards the village entrance, Mr. and Mrs. Fair standing there, watching the teenager walk off like a soldier.

Harry said not a word to the others as he marches from the village. They followed after him, of course, but as Harry took the path leading away from the village AND the possible path leading to the outside and the parked Buggy vehicle. As they eventually exit the forest-line, Harry's unsheathing of his sword made the group prepare themselves as well. Several burrows explode as what looked like half skeletal-armored rip-jaw fish dive into the air and at Harry. But he gave a wide swing of his blade, and cleaves through the four demon fish with ease.

"What are we doing?" Cait Sith whispered to Red.

"I wouldn't know, but Harry looks angry," the lupine beast replied, taking another look at the seriousness etched on the teen's face.

As they crossed the small barren ring of burnt ground that surrounded the reactor, he held a hand up. The others halted in confusion, but he moved on, by himself.

"H-Harry?"

"Hey kid, what's up?" Barret yelled.

"I need to do this on my own," he calls back, not turning back as he marched further into the ruins, "just go back to the Buggy and wait."

And he vanishes into the open ruins.

=0=0=

It was silent in the ruins, aside his near silent footfalls with each step he took. He kept looking everywhere, his grip on the Sword of Gryffindor firm. But the further he walked into the ruins, the darker it got as he started to walk into a section of the giant reactor where the roofs, damaged, were still intact. Crrreeeeeeak. He suddenly stopped and spun on his heels, sword up in front of him in a defense hold. All of a sudden, the wall to his left explodes, and the loud roar of a reptilian beast echoes in the cavernous reactor as it explodes through and at a rage charge at him. Harry was quick enough, as he kicked his Dash into gear and he evaded the charge by a hair's width as it attempted to swipe at him; it missed however. It released a painfully loud screech as it skids and creates a large cut into the ground as it stopped with its own armored claws and twist its entire lower heavy body around. It was as he described to his friends... well... almost. He could clearly see this dangerous beast had mutated further somehow. In addition to his physical traits and appearance, he could see scraps of metal that make spiny-like armor in a bladed ring fusion that now embed around its even more muscular arms. Large ringed pauldrons now cover its large tusk-impaled shoulders, crafted into dark purple and gray colors on the armor's cover. Around the ring pauldrons, large curved hooks sprout out like white ivory horns, but the fourth horn it had was cannon barrels. Its snout was more pointed now, and had a metallic sheen across its muzzle. The tank it was fused to was still the same, but now the wheel treads were now spiked. Harry watched as the mutated monster spread its reptilian arms wide, and in the center of its chest, were now metal plates like a square gate. It split open, revealing a cannon which fires a beam of energy at him. Harry dashes away, but the beam pierces a hole into the ruins of the walls and other scrap metal. Harry grunted as the debris begins to fall around, but his sprints kept him from getting buried.

"Alright, you piece of shit," Harry grunts. He taps into his Enemy Skill Materia. He began to glow, as energy swirled around, covering him like a second skin before fading away. Feeling much faster, he began to run at the monster, which began to release small rockets it fired from auxiliary guns.

"Quake this!"

He generates a tremor, which slams its energy from under the beast, stopping its assault. He rushed it, and with a leap into the air, slices at the monster's right arm. It roared, and he was smacked away, sent crashing into a wall which collapsed. The sword clattered from his grip, a bit away from his position. It was thanks to the Big Guard he casted upon himself that probably saved his life. He dashes off towards his sword, but the thing fired a missile. He launches Matra Magic at the beast in retaliation, his own magically-crafted missile swarm impacting the larger singular missile and creating a big explosion. Another dash and he grabs the sword just as the beast charges through the clouded smoke screen and grapples him. Harry grunts as it threw him right into a pillar of what once a Mako containment device.

He rushed it again, dodging the gunfire it fires from its weaponry, and leaps into the air. Feeling another tug at his reserves, he exhales a blast of flame right from his mouth. The beast got burned in the face by his Flamethrower spell. Using a fired missile as a stepping stone, he took another leap high as he started glowing brightly. With a loud cry, he swung heavily through the air, sending his powerful cherry blossom whirlwind. The multiple magically-generated pedals cause tiny cuts, and the cutting blades hidden through the cherry blossoms rip and scratch at his armor multiple times. One such blade caught the beast right across the eyes causing blood to spill. He lands and back flips twice as it roared, blinded by the attack.

"Marylyn... this is for you," he whispers, as he brings the sword pointing downward against his chest, held reverse, he begins to channel his mana into the fourth Summon Materia, "listen to my plea, and show yourself, almighty guardian of the Planet's force! Titan! Make this monster vanish!" He roars as his mana flares around him before the force rips from him, and pools before him into a giant being no bigger than the tank dinosaur itself. His skin was completely tan, almost the shade of the dirt hidden by the grass. He wore a skinned loincloth, and wore beads around his ankles, wrists, and next which two of the beads were shaped like fangs. He was very muscular, and had shoulder-length snow white hair.

"I hear and obey your command, my summoner," Titan says with a deep booming voice that was filled with power. The monster sensed something new and so made a mad charge, using its radar-like sensors now that it was physically blinded. However, the god of the earth easily blocked the charge with but a tiny grunt.

"Long since this reactor was built, and long after its destruction, you have been a plague upon the small village that resides nearby. You shall no longer exist!"

Titan then proceeds to take apart the monstrous beast with little effort, ripping off its mechanical weaponry, and then landing crushing blows. Its last attack, he pulled all of his mana into the attack and sent it crashing into the wall. Titan watches as his summon sprinted past him, and with a big leap into the air, stabs his weapon into its skull. The beast ceased to move, before it began to disintegrate into fireflies. Titan caught his summoner as the flesh and bone melted away, some of it remaining as smears against the machinery that made the rest of it, collapse and turn into rusted metal.

"Titan... my friends await me outside the forests... near a human vehicle... one of them has spiky blonde hair and wields a large sword..."

But Harry collapsed, as his reserves were almost depleted from summoning the god of the earth. Titan looks down upon his summoner in his hand, before he walks out of the reactor. Titan certainly surprised the group AVALANCHE, and had informed Cloud his summoner was merely exhausted from slaying the beast that haunted the outside village limits. And then he informed them that he would gladly be summoned again in a time of need, approving of Harry's determination and courage, before vanishing before their very eyes. Of course, the sun had begun to set into the distance, so it was decided that they should just get a bit of rest before they continued on. Harry was placed into the back of the third seat to rest, and Yuffie couldn't help but stay by him. She would eventually fall asleep by the teen. It was the next day Harry and Yuffie awoke up to the moving Buggy vehicle suddenly shorting out and breaking down.

"Ahh crap... the engine broken down," Cloud swore.

"These canyons..." Red muttered softly, before looking around. He was in a familiar area of the canyon land, "I may know of a place we can go to for shelter."

"Where?" Aerith asked the fire lion as everyone but the teens climbed out of the car. The two were blushing, realizing how close they were (in a sense, Yuffie was snug in Harry's arms).

"At Cosmo Canyon," he replied, before he ran off towards the south-west direction.

Harry yawned as Cloud, Barret, and Aerith followed Red XIII, leaving Tifa with the teenagers and Cait Sith.

"Well, let's secure this car up and gather our things out the back," Tifa spoke up, as Yuffie yawned.

"What happened?" she yawned again.

"The car broke down it seems, and from what I heard Red knows where we can stay."

Yuffie nodded sleepily, as Tifa gathered their weapons from the back trunk and then left the car, heading off towards the direction Red rushed off to.

_Hm... I'm still kind of sleepy... wouldn't mind having Yuffie close again... she's... warm to hold,_ he thought with a light blush, as his heart began to beat a bit faster with the thoughts of Yuffie running through him. Yuffie had similar thoughts and ideas going through her. The two raced to catch up with Tifa. Harry never knew that someone special to him would be there waiting...

Meanwhile, Hermione opened her eyes slowly, a yawn leaving her. Gingerly, she shifts to sit sideways on her bed, and gazes at the clock mounted on the wall. "It's close to night time... mmm." She stretched out, as another yawn made its escape from her body, "that was a nice nap," she mused. She decided to exit her room and head to the outside again, not knowing that she would finally be reunited with her brother...

* * *

**And in the next chapter, the Potter twins will finally reunite! And it's about damn time, too... I've put this story off long enough! **O,o


End file.
